Mary E. (Rogers) Leblanc

Mary E. (Rogers) Leblanc, 69, died peacefully on March 15, 2009, at Memorial Hospital in North Conway, New Hampshire, surrounded by her five children.She was born in Boothbay Harbor, Sept. 30, 1939, the daughter of Robert C. Rogers and Nina Mae (Hatch) Rogers. She attended Boothbay Harbor High School and received her degree at the University of Maine at Orono.Mary spent most of her career working to improve the lives of the people of the Saint John Valley, Aroostook County and the State of Maine. After leaving college, she worked as a social worker in Augusta, Maine. While there, she met a young lawyer, Joel Leblanc, who would soon become her husband. She was, for 13 years, the field representative for Senator George J. Mitchell in Presque Isle, serving tirelessly and with honor the people of all Aroostook County. She also held positions with the Maine State Board of Education, the United States Census, working for the University of Maine at Fort Kent, the Loring Redevelopment Authority, and the Maine Technical College system. She was active in Democratic politics, helping to elect local, state and national candidates and being instrumental in arranging for First Lady Rosalynn Carter to visit Madawaska in the only known visit of a sitting First Lady to the Saint John Valley. She was an avid community organizer and supporter of development in Northern Maine, and was among the first women offered invitation into the Kiwanis Club of Presque Isle and the first female president of that organization. When Presque Isle hosted the Maine State Democratic convention, she proudly served as the honorary chairperson for the Convention and welcomed Democrats from around the state to her corner of Maine.She lived throughout the state of Maine during her life, spending extended time in Boothbay Harbor, Orono, Augusta, Hallowell, Madawaska, Presque Isle, Easton, Gardiner and Portland. She retired in 2005 to Center Conway, moving to be within minutes of her beloved daughters and grandchildren. She appeared as an extra in the film "Carousel" which was filmed in Boothbay Harbor, she loved to play golf, and she was an avid quilt maker (and those she left behind will cherish those mementos). Her strength of character was evident as a single mother raising five children when her husband passed away.She was predeceased by her husband, Joel R. Leblanc in 1980. She is survived by her children, Peter Leblanc, of Vancouver, British Columbia, Susan (Leblanc) Perry, of Chatham, Daniel Leblanc, of Geneva, Switzerland, Elizabeth (Leblanc) Charles, of Fryeburg, Maine, and Andrew Leblanc, of Washington, D.C. Her greatest love at her death was her 10 grandchildren, Christopher Perry, Jennifer Perry, Sydney Charles, Abigail Leblanc, Alexis Charles, Leah Charles, Rory Leblanc, Drew Leblanc, Brady Leblanc, and Dillon Leblanc. She will be fondly remembered by dozens of nieces, nephews and cousins, all of whom she will dearly miss seeing at the annual Rogers family reunion.Visiting hours will be held at the Wood Funeral Home on 9 Warren Street in Fryeburg, Maine, Wednesday, March 18, from 6 to 8 p.m. A mass of christian burial will be held Thursday, March 19, at 11 a.m. at the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Fryeburg. Interment will be with her beloved husband, Joel, in Madawaska in the spring.In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in her memory to: The George J. Mitchell Scholarship Research Institute, Mitchell Institute, 22 Monument Square Suite 200, Portland, Maine, 04101.