Wilfred "Gus" J. LeBlanc

LEWISTON- With sadness we share that Gus LeBlanc passed away peacefully at CMMC on February 23 with his loving wife Patti, son Nicholas, and daughter Christina by his side. Gus was born at Home Private Hospital in Old Town, Maine, in 1952, son of Wilfred LeBlanc, Sr. and Margaret Ann (Curran) LeBlanc.

Gus grew up in Old Town, where he played year-round sports and developed a passion for football. He graduated from Old Town High School in 1970, then went on to earn his B.A. in History and M.Ed in Counseling from the University of Maine at Orono. He began his career in education as a social studies teacher at OTHS (1975-79), then served as a team leader for Teacher Corps at the University of Maine (1979-80), guidance counselor and then assistant principal at Dexter Regional High School (1984-87), principal at Leavitt Area High School (1987-96), assistant principal and athletic director at Oak Hill High School (1996-98), principal at Montello Elementary School (1998-2006), principal at Lewiston High School (2006-13) and as Lee Academy’s headmaster (2013-18) before fully retiring. In 2010 he served as president of the Maine Principals’ Association. During the 2020-21 school year he returned as interim principal at Lewiston High School and this past fall substituted as Interim Dean of Students at Poland Regional High School. A lifelong educator, Gus was proud to be a student advocate and was a member of various educational and MPA committees. Other professional activities included EMT instructor, bail commissioner, educational consultant, adjunct instructor, and Chief Educational Officer for a school in Shanghai, China.

Coaching was a constant for Gus, whether it was Auburn Rec football and basketball, Auburn Suburban Little League, or high school football. As head coach he led the 1984 and 1985 DRHS football team to back-to-back Class D State Championships and was named Coach of the Year in 1984. In retirement, Gus coached the Poland Regional High School Knights, where they reached program bests and were awarded a Sportsmanship Award in 2023. Gus was named Campbell Conference Coach of the Year in both 2022 and 2023. Coaching was one of Gus’s many diverse interests. Growing up, he loved to waterski and canoe as well as camp in the Maine woods, and he had a lifelong passion for sailing. In the past he hopped freight trains with childhood friends, scuba dived and took flying lessons, was a short order cook, and started a local Civil Air Patrol unit. He also served with the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. In 2018, lifelong Packers fan Gus visited Lambeau Field in Green Bay, WI with his family.

In 1975 Gus married Patti Gaetani, also of Old Town, who he met in high school. They moved to Dexter and started their family, welcoming daughter Christina in 1985 and son Nicholas in 1987, before moving to Auburn, where he enjoyed coaching his children, spending summers in the pool, and holidays around the dinner table. In their retirement years, Gus and Patti have enjoyed traveling and the extra time with their families, children, son-in-law, and granddog. In 2020 Gus wrote, “Family is what is most important in my life… the love I feel for them and the love I feel in return is what makes each day worth living.”

Gus is survived by his wife of 48 years Patti Gaetani LeBlanc; daughter Christina LeBlanc Morse of Auburn and her husband, Aaron Morse; his son Nicholas LeBlanc of Falmouth and Nick’s labrador retriever Ella; sister Anne Grant of Bangor and her husband Forrest; sister Mary Ellen Dube of Tucson, Arizona; his sisters’ children and grandchildren; his mother-in-law and pal Jean Marie Gaetani; and Patti’s siblings Peter, David, John, Janice, Judy, and Brian, and their spouses, children and grandchildren. He is predeceased by his parents, Wilfred and Margaret; his sister, Elizabeth; and his brother-in-law Pete Dube.

There will be two similar gatherings for remembrance: Thursday, March 7th at Pinette Dillingham & Lynch in Lewiston, with a memorial gathering from 4:00-7:00pm and readings/speaking at 7:00pm; and Saturday, March 9th at the Black Bear Inn in Orono, with a memorial gathering from 1:00-4:00pm and readings/speaking at 4:00pm. To honor Gus’s memory, the family invites you to donate to a fund for a scholarship to be established in his name. Visit leblancmemorialscholarship.org for more information. Arrangements by the Pinette Dillingham & Lynch Funeral Home 305 Alfred A. Plourde Parkway in Lewiston, 784-4023. Online condolences and sharing of memories may be expressed at www.lynchbrothers.com