The Lives He Touched Marcel LeBlanc ’50

The Lives He Touched

MARCEL LEBLANC ’50

BY ANNIE ROSELLO ’94

Marcel LeBlanc ’50

Most of us fondly remember the best teacher we ever had. Perhaps it was their academic brilliance, energetic style of teaching, or gentle encouragement. This teacher may have been a role model or mentor, had a memorable greeting, or told fascinating stories of travel, adventure, and the wide world beyond the schoolyard.

To generations of students at New York’s Harrisville Central School, Marcel LeBlanc was all of those things, and more. Upon his death in late 2020, LeBlanc put a beautiful final coda on his career as an educator by bequeathing $100,000 to Saint Michael’s, a gift that will educate and inspire generations of Purple Knights, including those following in his footsteps.

Born in Winooski in 1928, LeBlanc graduated summa cum laude from Saint Michael’s in 1950, at the head of his class. He majored in classical languages and minored in French and philosophy. After graduation, he began teaching in New York, but in 1951 undertook a tour of duty in the U.S. Army that included service in the counterintelligence corps and Korea.

LeBlanc returned to New York in 1953 and resumed his teaching career as department head and instructor of French and Latin in the Harrisville Central School, a position he held for 36 years until his retirement. While educating Harrisville’s students, LeBlanc continued his own studies, earning a master’s degree in French from Middlebury in 1957, as well as undertaking additional post-graduate studies at UVM and Saint Lawrence.

His students remember him fondly: “He was an educational icon with amazing intelligence,” recalled one former student. “To say he was an inspiration is putting it mildly,” remembered another. “Marcel was an outstanding person, a gifted teacher, and a gentleman always.” Another stated plainly, “Our world was certainly better for knowing him.” The impression LeBlanc made on the tiny hamlet of Harrisville, New York, is beautiful and lasting. And his legacy at Saint Michael’s is one to be cherished, as well.

“Marcel was really proud of graduating from Saint Michael’s, back when there were only two buildings—one for administration, the other for classrooms,” explains Jean Paul LeBlanc, who was glad to carry out his uncle’s wishes of leaving such a meaningful gift to Saint Michael’s. “I know he wanted to help both the College and Saint Michael’s students.”

Saint Michael’s core mission, Do Well and Do Good, was a natural part of LeBlanc’s life’s work. “He didn’t believe teaching was a career, he believed it was a calling,” Jean Paul remembers. Thanks to the generosity of the Marcel J. LeBlanc ‘50 Endowed Scholarship, future Purple Knights may strive to leave such a profound impression.