Newton Joseph LeBlanc, Jr. of Austin, Texas died on June 9, 2018 at the age of 88. Visitation will be Tuesday, June 19 from 6-8pm at Cook-Walden Funeral Home, 6100 North Lamar, including the Vigil Service with rosary at 7pm. Funeral mass is Wednesday, June 20 at 10am at St. Louis Catholic Church with burial at Assumption Cemetery immediately following.
Newt was born in Abbeville, LA on October 6, 1929 to Myriam (Dauphin) LeBlanc and Newton Joseph LeBlanc, Sr. As a young man, he and his brothers, Ronnie and Tommy, and sister, Mary Lou, grew up in his mother’s boarding house in Biloxi, MI with their cook, Josephine “Beb” LaGuard. After graduating from St. Joseph’s Catholic High School in Biloxi, MS, he joined the Army Air Corps, working on the runways with the planes performing pre-flight checks during the Korean War.. He attended St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas where he earned his Master’s in Business Administration.
At a Catholic Young Adult’s dance, he met the love of his life, Shirley Mueller, whom he married on September 7, 1957. The young couple were founding members of St. Louis King of France Catholic Church on Burnet Road. Knowing that they firmly desired a Catholic education for any children they might have, they and five other families petitioned the Diocese of Austin to found St. Louis School. Newt was the first School Board President - appropriate, as all four of their children would attend St. Louis School.
Newt was the manager at Handy Andy on Burnet Road before taking a job with the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) going from small town to small town in Texas selling electricity. He knew the town Mayors by name, and had a few of their home keys on his key ring in order to wake them early enough for a 6:30 am tee time. He continued to enjoy golf after his retirement from LCRA in 1990, and knew every decent place to eat in the hill country.
Newt was a lifelong volunteer in the Church. He would lector, serve as Eucharistic Minister, and work with the St. Louis Men’s Club to raise funds for and take care of the church. Many a nearby neighbor would hear his booming laugh telling jokes at the annual St. Louis Garage Sale or see him sweating with the other men working the grounds on a Saturday.
After retiring, Newt and Shirley enjoyed camping in their Travel Trailer with lifelong friends from church. They went on Alaskan Cruises with Shirley’s brother, Msgr. Joseph Schmitt. Newt enjoyed taking trips back to Abbeville with his kids, eating and drinking their way across Louisiana, gambling a bit in Lake Charles, and stopping at their favorite places to gather crawfish, soft-shelled crab, and French bread, then driving back to Austin for a nearly annual Crawfish Boil for family and friends. Newt loved people, loved to see them enjoy themselves, and loved to spend time with them. He loved his family, providing a beautiful model of Faith, Hope, and Love to his children and their spouses, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. His smile and antics will be missed until we join with him again in Heaven, where he is certainly in the arms of his Heavenly Father, with his beloved Shirley.
Newt is survived by his brother Thomas LeBlanc, sister-in-law Martha LeBlanc, daughter Marie Knapp and her husband Walter, son Joseph LeBlanc and his wife Dolores (Loredo), son Rene LeBlanc and his fiancé Patricia Umbarger, son Jerome LeBlanc and his wife Dona (Fradenburg), grandchildren Krystal Rivera, Jonathan, Elizabeth, and Theresa Knapp, Joseph Jr, Vincent, Adam, Anthony, John, Jacqueline, Mariana, Gabriella, and Ben LeBlanc, Matthew, Rebecca, David, and Joshua LeBlanc, Treva Tabios, and numerous great-grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his wife, parents, sister, brother Ronald, and daughter Mary.
May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
