BRADFORD: Joseph L. LeBlanc, 81, died November 14, 2010 in the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He was the loving husband of Lorraine (Roberge) LeBlanc with whom he shared fifty-five years of marriage.
Born in Lynn on March 19, 1929, he was the son of the late Leo and Helen (Nagle) LeBlanc. A longtime resident of Bradford, he was a graduate of Haverhill High School. He also graduated from the New England Institute of Anatomy and Embalming in Boston where his mother joked he was always running to catch the train to make it to class on time. Joe enlisted in the U.S. Army and proudly served our country during the Korean War. He worked for many years as a machinist at AT&T until his retirement in 1986.
Joe lived a full life and had a wide array of activities; among them were hunting, fly fishing, reading, and watching and playing golf. He learned the ancient art of fly fishing from the late Ernie Lavallee of Bradford. During a fishing trip to New Hampshire, Joe's fly fishing skills attracted the attention of heavyweight boxing champ Jack Sharkey, who wanted to know "How are you catching all those fish?" He played on the Green Raiders semi-pro football team along with his cousin Wally Millington of Bradford. He also was an avid woodworker.
Joe and his wife loved to travel and visited much of the U.S. and Europe. He cherished the times he spent with Lorraine going to the movies, shopping and enjoying each other’s company at some of their favorite restaurants. He was a man who loved conversations and was quick with a joke. Above all he loved the time he spent with his children and grandchildren. They will fondly remember the good times they had together. Joe will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by his eight children, Judy L. and her husband Robert Schenk of Windham, NH, Susan R. and her husband Guy Gobeil of Kingston, NH, Christina H. and her husband George Pereira of Bradford, Joseph T. LeBlanc and his wife Gail M. Sullivan of Bradford, Thomas J. LeBlanc and his fiancée Deanna Clarance of Sudbury, Lawrence J. and his wife Tammie LeBlanc of Atkinson, NH, William F. and his wife Anne LeBlanc of Reading and Gary M. and his wife Caroline LeBlanc of Bradford; twenty grandchildren, Shay Sullivan, Stephen, Elizabeth, Michael, Neal, James, Megan, Kevin, Julianne, Griffin and Reese LeBlanc, Samantha and Robert Schenk, Zachary, Rachael and Rebecca Gobeil and Jacqueline, Nicole, Michael and Holly Pereira; one brother, John N. LeBlanc of Bradford and many nieces and nephews.
His funeral Mass will be celebrated on Friday in the Sacred Hearts Church, 165 South Main St., Bradford at 10:30 a.m. Visiting hours will be held on Thursday in the Linnehan-Grondin Funeral Home, 129 Kenoza Avenue, Haverhill from 2 – 5 & 7 – 9 p.m. Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend. Interment will be held in Elmwood Cemetery, Bradford. Flowers are welcomed or expressions of sympathy may be made in his memory to the NECC Foundation/LeBlanc Family Scholarship, 100 Elliott St., Haverhill, MA 01830.