Lois Annette LeBlanc, 83, of Fertile, Minnesota died Saturday, September 19, 2020 while at Sanford Hospital in Fargo.

Lois was born on the home farm near Mentor, MN on May 10, 1937. She was one of eight children, including still-born twin boys. Lois grew up on a dairy farm east of Fertile and was baptized and confirmed at Faaberg Lutheran Church in Rindal. She attended country school thru the 8 ^th grade and then graduated in 1955 from Fertile High School. After graduation, Lois moved to Minneapolis and worked for Fingerhut.

While in Minneapolis, Lois and Ralph met, married in 1957, and started their family in Columbia Heights.  They had four children – Sherry, Mark, Cathy, and John. They started their own business, LeBlanc Real Estate in 1967. In 1971, they decided to move to and raise their children in the Fertile area. Ralph was originally from Erskine.

Most recently, Lois was a resident of Fair Meadow Assisted Living apartments. Ralph is a resident of the Fair Meadow Nursing Home.

Lois possessed a sense of enthusiasm that was contagious. Her family, her faith and food were central to her life. She was an amazing cook and if it could be boiled, baked, fried, grilled, frozen, or canned – she was always at home in her kitchen. Her Thanksgiving dressing was legendary.

In 1996, after Ralph suffered a career-ending stroke, she stepped up and became the quiet and driving force behind LeBlanc Real Estate. Over the next ten years, she became a small business success story and turned over the company to her daughter Sherry Coauette of Crookston.

She was an active and devoted member of Saint Joseph's Catholic Church in Fertile. As a committed volunteer to the Agassiz Valley T.E.C. (Teens Encounter Christ) program - she was a leader and director on over fifty T.E.C. retreats. Lois and Ralph were influential in starting the first non-Catholic T.E.C. program called Red River Valley T.E.C. in 1979.

Nowhere was her presence felt more deeply than with her four children, ten grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, her sisters, brother, nieces, and nephews. There was always an extra seat at her table for friends and colleagues of her loved ones. The ripple effect of her spirit will live on for generations to come.

She is survived by her husband, Ralph LeBlanc; children, Sherry (Dennis) Coauette, Mark (Ann) LeBlanc, Cathy (Steve) Godtland, and  John (Michelle) LeBlanc; sisters, Georgia (Steve) Gullickson, and Jane (Leroy) Opdahl;  brother, Richard Rude of Kalispell, Montana; and brother-in-law, Ron Muellner.

AFS student, Gottfried (Ana) Ransmayr of Vienna, Austria has been a family member since 1976-1977, when the LeBlanc family hosted him for a year. Additional close friends of Lois and her family include Lorena Nohre of Fertile, Dominic Considine of Ireland and John (Julie) Givogre of Eagan, Minnesota.

Lois was preceded in death by her father, Arnold Rude; mother, Ruby Sykes Rude Trontvedt; sisters, Virgene Rude, and Yvonne Muellner; infant twin brothers; stepfather, Ervin Trontvedt; and step-brother Dan Trontvedt.

Funeral : A private family-only service has been planned for Saturday, September 26, 2020 at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Fertile, MN.  Friends of Lois and the LeBlanc family are welcome to join the live-stream broadcast of the funeral beginning at 11:00 a.m. at https://www.gvtel.com/video/livestream/ on channel 32.

Burial: St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery, Fertile, MN.

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