Bernard Julius 'Ben' LeBlanc, 89

Bernard Julius LeBlanc passed away on 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 Lynn Stephens and Clyde from Apple Valley, Minn., and Lucinda Jean Davis and Andrew, and grandchildren, Capucine Margaret and Bernard Augustus Davis, from Tucker, Ga.; his sister, Frances Posey, in Billings; and brothers, Albert LeBlanc in Pebble Beach, Calif., and Robert LeBlanc and Lorraine in 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 to the Experimental Aircraft Association, EAA Aviation Center, 3000 Poberezny Road, Oshkosh, WI 54902; www.eaa.org; or to the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 22718, Oklahoma City, OK 73123-1718; www.cancer.org.