Leo H. Provost

Leo H. Provost was born August 28, 1919 in New Bedford, MA to Henry and Blanche (nee Fournier) Provost . He died January 4, 2015 at his home in Prospect Heights.Leo grew up in New Bedford, Massachusetts, the eldest of six children. He entered the U.S. Army in 1941 and served until 1945 as the Army Dance Band Director at Wendover AFB where he met his wife Catherine. He went on to earn a Bachelors of Music from the New England Conservatory of Music and a Masters of Music Education from the University of Illinois, Champaign. Leo became the Music Director at Alexis High School in 1949 and later the Director of Bands and Chair of the Music Department at Niles East High School in Skokie where he was remembered as an inspiration and a mentor to many young aspiring musicians. Upon his retirement from teaching he worked for several years with the Morton Park District Senior Programs.Leo is survived by his children Marybeth (Ron) Saari, Catherine (James) Liggett, Margaret (Charles) Fyfe, Patricia Kosinski, Henry Provost, Edward (Judy) Provost, William (Susan) Provost, Julie (David) Kreling, Ginger Provo, Joseph (Lynn) Provost, Barbara Provost, Peter (Adrienne) Provost; his grandchildren Stephanie , Shawna and Scott Saari; James (Karen) Liggett and Matthew (Kristen) Liggett, Joseph (Kristin) Kosinski, Catherine (Jeff) Gilfillan, Lindsey (Kurt Beyer) Kosinski and Jeffrey (Dana) Kosinski; Leah (Keith) McNeely and Lindsay Jaglarski; Kenneth Kulovany and Jamie (Kyle) Nesbett; Alynna (Grant) Schulert, Edward and Margaret Nielsen; Timothy, Kathleen, Kelsey, Kevin, Natalie, Kyle, Quinn, Nicole, Megan, William, Daniel, Emma Rose, Stephen, Katelin, Christopher, Elizabeth, Patrick and Caroline Provost; his great grandchildren Brandon, Nicholas, Jake, Declan, Kaj, Alix, Luke, Franklin, Joel, Margaret, Eileen, Isaac, Emmy and Lydia; and by his brothers Paul and Jack.Leo was preceded in death by his wife Catherine Julia (nee Ryan) Provost; his son John Provost; his great granddaughter Isabelle McNeely; his siblings Henry, Norman and Bernice and by his parents.Visitation from 4:00 PM until 8:00 PM, Thursday, January 8, 2015 at the Glueckert Funeral Home, Ltd., 1520 N. Arlington Heights Rd., (4 blocks south of Palatine Rd.) Arlington Heights and from 9:30 AM until time of Funeral Mass at 10:30 AM, Friday, January 9, 2015 at St. Alphonsus Church, 411 N. Wheeling Road, Prospect Heights. Burial at St. Peter Cemetery, Skokie.In lieu of flowers, donations appreciated to the Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa Research Association of America (www.debra.org), DebRA of America, 5 West 36th Street, Room 404, New York, NY 10018 or the New England Conservatory of Music, www.Necmusic.edu