Eugene J. LeBeau

01/09/2002

Eugene Joseph "Ray" LeBeau, 91, of 541 Church St. died yesterday afternoon at home. Born in Adams on March 7, 1910, son of Eugene and Almina Beaudin LeBeau, he grew up in Savoy and Adams, where he attended schools. He was a World War II Army veteran and served in the European Theater with the 42nd Infantry Rainbow Division. He received the Bronze Star and several campaign medals. While in Europe, he served in the Secret Service and as an English-French-German interpreter. He also was a film projectionist. He was discharged with the rank of staff sergeant on Nov. 19, 1945. Before the war, Mr. LeBeau was employed by the Boston & Maine Railroad, General Electric, the Berkshire Hathaway Mill in Adams and the Greylock Mill in North Adams. He also was a stagehand in vaudeville shows at the former Richmond Theater. After the war, he was employed as a painter with the former Gazzaniga's Paint and Wallpaper Store. He also was employed as a motion picture projectionist for many years and worked at many local theaters, including the Hoosac and Coury's Drive-In theaters, the Mohawk, and Adams Theater on Park Street. He was most recently employed by the former Parker Machine Co. for 20 years, retiring in 1976. He was an active member of the Theater and Projectionists Alliance union and served as its business agent and secretary. In his younger years, he worked with his uncle, Arsene Beaudin, who established the Mount Greylock Greenhouses in Adams. He was a communicant of St. Anthony of Padua Church, and a member of the 42nd Infantry Rainbow Division Veterans Association, and had attended several of their reunions throughout the United States and Canada. He also was a member of the Dr. George L. Curran Post 996 Veterans of Foreign Wars. He was a former member of the Cartier Club, the Polish National Alliance, the Loyal Order of Moose and the St. Stan's Kostka Society, all in Adams. In his younger years, he was an avid hunter and fisherman. He enjoyed gardening, reading and history, and was a resource for several local college students and professors who studied his activities during World War II. He leaves his wife, the former Mary Rita Arabia, whom he married April 27, 1946, in St. Anthony of Padua Church; a son, Gary Joseph LeBeau of Springfield, and two grandchildren. Three sisters and four foster sisters are deceased, including Rachel Girouard, Laura Brown and Dorothy Furtek; and Lillian Rolland, Rena Gurney, Blanche Jarvis and Laura Fortin, who were his foster sisters. Funeral services will take place Saturday morning, Jan. 12, at 9:30 a.m. at FLYNN & DAGNOLI-MONTAGNA HOME FOR FUNERALS, Central Chapels, 74 Marshall St., North Adams. Funeral Mass at 10:30 a.m. at St. Anthony Padua Church Parish Center. Burial will follow in the family plot in Southview Cemetery. Calling hours at the funeral home are Friday from 4 to 7 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the St. Anthony Building Fund in care of the funeral home.

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