CHICOPEE - Rita A. (Fournier) LeBlanc, 83, of the Aldenville section of Chicopee, was Called Safely Home on Monday, March 7, 2016. She passed into Eternal Life at her home surrounded by the care and comfort of her loving family. She was born at home on Grattan Street in the Aldenville section of Chicopee on May 22, 1932, a beloved daughter of the late Wilfred C. and Ida A. (Chapdelaine) Fournier. She was raised in Aldenville, attended Saint Joan of Arc Elementary School and was a lifelong resident of Aldenville. She was employed as the bookkeeper for the family business, LeBlanc & Sons Service Station in Aldenville and had previously worked at the former Noma Electric Company, the A. G. Spalding Company and the New England Telephone Company, all in Chicopee. She was a wonderful seamstress and made many fancy dresses and prom gowns for many of her family members and friends. During her leisure time, Rita loved their summer home on Lake Mascoma in Lebanon, New Hampshire where she enjoyed swimming and kayaking. She also enjoyed preparing delicious meals for her large family and especially enjoyed gardening at her homes. She was an active communicant of Sainte Rose de Lima Church in Chicopee where she volunteered at many Parish activities and was a member of the Ladies of Saint Anne Sodality. Most of all, she was a wonderful homemaker to her large family and showered them all with her love and affection which was returned to her a thousand fold. She leaves her beloved husband and best friend, Gerard O. LeBlanc. They were married at Sainte Rose de Lima Church in Aldenville on July 18, 1953 and were blessed with over 62 years of happiness together. She also leaves her six loving children, Edward A. LeBlanc and his wife, Cecile “Sis”, of Chicopee, Louise M. Flynn and her husband, Brian, of Levittown, NY, Thomas P. LeBlanc and his wife, Connie, of Chicopee, Stephen R. LeBlanc and his wife, Patti, of Apple Valley, CA, Joyce E. Wildman and her husband, James, of Chicopee and Jeffrey A. LeBlanc and his wife, Kay, of Springfield; her many cherished grandchildren; her many cherished great-grandchildren; her dear sister, Gloria Piela and her husband, Walter, of Chicopee; her dear brother, Roger Fournier and his wife, Cecile, of Chicopee; her dear sister-in-law, Evelyn Fournier of South Hadley; her two dear brothers-in-law, Normand LeBlanc and his wife, Joan, of Vero Beach, FL and Robert LeBlanc and his wife, Maryann, of Holyoke; and her many dear nephews, nieces, cousins, friends and extended members of the LeBlanc and Fournier families. Besides her parents, she was also predeceased by her three dear brothers, Raymond Fournier, Reverend W. Donald Fournier and Gerard “Jerry” Fournier; and her dear sister, Constance Rosinski. Her funeral will be held on Friday morning, March 11, 2016 beginning at the St. Pierre – Phaneuf Aldenville Chapels, (413-532-9806), 13 Dale Street, Chicopee, MA 01020, (funeral home will open at 9 a.m.), followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:30 a.m. in Sainte Rose de Lima Church, 600 Grattan Street, Chicopee, MA 01020. Her burial will be private for her family at a later date at Sainte Rose Cemetery in Chicopee. Her family will receive friends at the funeral home on Thursday, March 10, 2016 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The parking lot and main entrance are located in the rear of the funeral home at 20 Lafayette Street, Chicopee, MA 01020. Her family has requested that memorial donations be made in her memory to the Harmony House of Western Mass., PO Box 6135, Holyoke, MA 01041-6135 or to Saint Joan of Arc School, 587 Grattan Street, Chicopee, MA 01020. For more details, please visit: www.stpierrephaneuf.com