Marie Madeline LeBlanc

Marie M. Le Blanc (Kearns) of Pocasset, MA, formerly of Needham, MA, passed away peacefully in the comfort of loving family, at the age of 88. She was one of eleven children of George and Florence Kearns of Braintree. She is predeceased by brothers William, Richard (Dick), Paul, and David Kearns, as well as sisters Jeanne (Kearns) Nash and Elaine (Kearns) Weldon. Surviving siblings include Leo Kearns of Plymouth, Irene Hayes of Braintree, Sr. Louise Kearns of Dorchester, and Denis Kearns of Norwell.

Marie grew up with a love for reading, music, and roller skating (inspired by ice skater Sonja Henie). Growing up in her large family, she also came to love cooking, both Irish and French heritage cuisine (how she loved chocolate and butter!), and later became known for her Ruby Chicken (cranberry) when hosting annual, whole family gatherings. From a young age, she learned how to play the piano and excelled on knowing her chords. She would apply this talent to playing in a variety of venues, such as entertaining her family, playing while students left school for the day, and later as a paid pianist.

After graduating from St. Gregory’s School in Dorchester in 1953, Marie attended and graduated with a B.A. from the College of Our Lady of the Elms in 1957, double majoring in sociology and elementary education. After earning special education credits from Curry College in 1970, she later earned her M.Ed. from Lesley College. Marie’s teaching career included teaching both regular education and special education for twenty-six years. This included being a second-grade teacher in Randolph, MA and a long-term substitute in Long Island, NY. Most of her teaching years were in Needham, MA, including special education at Stephen Palmer School, Carter School, and Cherry Hill, NJ, as well as fourth grade at Mitchell School in Needham.

During the summers when she was young, Marie and her siblings would help their parents by picking blueberries on their 132-acre family farm in Granville, MA. As a young adult, her summers were spent waitressing and playing the lounge piano at the Captain Linnell House in Orleans, MA where she met her beloved musical husband, Ernest (Pete), with whom she was married for sixty years before his passing in 2020. Together, they enjoyed traveling in North America and Europe, attending musical and symphony performances, and spending time with family.

Marie was an avid reader of the daily newspaper as well as historical fiction and books on women’s rights. She loved visiting local or faraway gardens to admire the blossoms and butterflies they attracted. Likewise, she loved to sip her decaf tea and watch the various birds come to the feeder from the comfort of her sunroom recliner or outside on the deck. Marie also loved philosophy, classical and Swing Era music, the Arts, travel, needlepoint, and taking courses at the Academy of Lifelong Learning on the Cape. She loved making puzzles and was an amazing wordsmith, making her a tough competitor in Scrabble and Words with Friends…even when she unsuccessfully tried to lose to make you feel better!

After Marie’s retirement, she and Pete moved to Pocasset, MA, and she enjoyed many hobbies of reading and local leadership. Marie was an avid reader with the Bourne Library Book Club (the “Wednesday Readers”) for thirty years and was known for often guiding the group through discussions. She was an enthusiastic and faithful member of the Bourne Women’s’ Club for over twenty years, helping to develop outreach projects for the local community. She served as Arts Chairwoman and club historian, writing and publishing the history of the club in 2007. This included serving as vice-president for three years and then the office of President for several more years. These many efforts afforded Marie the 2020 award for Clubwoman of the Year. Marie also volunteered at the Otis School for ten years to help students with language skills, and later worked at the Bourne Library on book sales. The couple enjoyed a wonderful life on the Cape for 30 years.

Known for her generosity, hospitality, and willingness to help others, Marie was a devoted mother and grandmother, and leaves her three children, Pierre, Christopher and his wife, Christine, Laura and her husband, Robert, with their two children, Brian and Jason, and also many loving nieces and nephews. Always gracious and deeply caring, she will be dearly missed.

The family extends great appreciation and gratitude to the very skilled and compassionate medical/other staffs of Falmouth Hospital in Falmouth, Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Plymouth, and the entire community of Stafford Hill in Plymouth. Friends and family are welcome to attend the celebration of life gathering and subsequent burial ceremony. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Julie’s Family Learning Program (www.jflp.org) and the GFWC Bourne Women’s Club (checks can be mailed in care of Kathy Dwyer, 25 Kenwood Road, Pocasset, MA 02559). For online condolences, please see Nickerson-Bourne Funeral Home (www.nickersonbournefuneralhome.com).

Relatives and friends are welcome to gather at 9 a.m. on Friday, July 19, 2024, at the Nickerson-Bourne Funeral Home 40 MacArthur Blvd., Bourne for a Funeral Service at 9:45 a.m. Burial to follow at the Massachusetts National Cemetery.