Bernard LeBlanc

Bernard Julius "Ben" LeBlanc, 89, passed away Sept. 4, 2008, at Westminster Village, in Spanish Fort, Ala.

He was born June 16, 1919, in Whitefish to Robert and Stella (Herritt) LeBlanc, the eldest of four children. He grew up in Whitefish and attended Whitefish High School.

He followed a rewarding career in shipbuilding, which took him to San Diego and Gautier, Miss., retiring in Daphne, Ala.

The family has said about Ben, "Never met a stranger, never suffered a fool."

He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 59 years, Melveen (Furer).

He is survived by his daughters Victoria Stephens and husband Clyde, of Apple Valley, Minn., and Lucinda Davis and husband Andrew, and grandchildren Capucine Margaret and Bernard Augustus Davis, of Tucker, Ga.; sister Frances Posey, of Billings; brothers Albert LeBlanc, of Pebble Beach, Calif., and Robert LeBlanc and wife Lorraine, of Spokane; and several nieces and nephews.

No services will be held. Interment will be held at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis at a later date.

Donations would be gratefully accepted to support his lifetime love of aviation by sending them to the Experimental Aircraft Association, EAA Aviation Center, 3000 Poberezny Road, Oshkosh WI 54902, online at www.eaa.org; or to the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 22718, Oklahoma City OK 73123-1718, online at www.cancer.org.