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In Leominster, the city’s Office environment of Emergency Management and James “Jimmy” LeBlanc went hand in hand.
The lifelong Leominster resident volunteered with the agency for far more than five a long time, serving as assistant director for quite a few yrs right until he was named director in July 2018.
From his office at Crisis Management headquarters on Carter Street, LeBlanc produced confident Leominster was prepared in case of disaster, terrorism or a as soon as-in-a-century pandemic.
“I get pleasure from operating with all our city departments and volunteers though establishing associations,” LeBlanc informed the Leominster Champion in April 2020. “For me the general public services side runs in my family from uncles, brothers, and nephews who have labored in police and hearth departments, so this is my contribution in Unexpected emergency Administration.”
Some of LeBlanc’s contributions went far beyond Leominster, these as the Emergency Management canteen, which is a fixture at neighborhood hearth scenes. The canteen, which very first went on the street in 1982, lessens firefighter injuries from head, chilly or exhaustion.
So, when LeBlanc died Sept. 30 at age 75, the information resonated equally in and around Leominster.
Neighborhood fire departments and emergency management departments supplied their condolences on their Fb webpages. A article on the Fitchburg Crisis Management Agency Fb site known as LeBlanc “a giant in the Emergency Management Community and an all-all over good man.”
General public safety staff from about the region lined the route of LeBlanc’s funeral procession on Wednesday, Oct. 6.
“To know James LeBlanc and to learn from him was by considerably finding out from the very best,” Valerie Dupont-Brennan, who served as Leominster’s deputy director, recalled on Facebook. “He was a single of, if not the most awesome individual I have ever experienced the honor and privilege to know, volunteer with, and study from. A great guy is now at rest. Rest straightforward, Jim! You taught us perfectly and we will make you proud.”
James Raymond LeBlanc was the two Jan. 30, 1946 to Raymond and Doris (LaPierre) LeBlanc. Right after graduating from Leominster Trade High Faculty in 1965, he married his substantial faculty sweetheart, Carol Individual. They would have marked their 56th wedding ceremony anniversary this thirty day period.
LeBlanc started out functioning at Foster Grant as a draftsman in 1965, the start out of a 50-calendar year career in the plastics and optical industries. He retired as Vice President of Engineering at Foster Grant’s successor firm, Fosta-Tek.
When he was named Emergency Management Director in July 2018, it marked the pinnacle of a 52-year volunteering journey. He uncovered many features of the occupation alongside the way — from incident command and project management to harmful materials operations.
In 1967, LeBlanc was a member of the committee that produced cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) instruction for the Coronary heart Association. He properly trained additional than 1,500 individuals over 17 several years in two international locations.
Together with his Emergency Administration volunteering, LeBlanc was a member of Leominster’s auxiliary police and its motorcycle squad. He was a registered healthcare technician, a member of the LEMA Divers and a SCUBA instructor.
LeBlanc was identified by teams ranging from the American Legion and the Rotary Club to the Massachusetts Legislature for his lifesaving steps. He was named Citizen of the Yr at Starburst 2015 in recognition of his decades of assistance.
Donations in memory of James “Jimmy” LeBlanc may possibly be created to the Emergency Management Canteen Company, 37 Carter St., Leominster, MA 01453. Reminiscences could be remaining on the Richardson Funeral Home web page, richardsonfuneralhome.internet.
