Conway LeBleu
| Glenn Conway LeBleu | |
Louisiana State Representative for District 36 (Calcasieu and
Cameron parishes) | |
| In office May 1964 – March 1988 | |
| Preceded by | Alvin Dyson |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Randy Roach |
| Born | October 4, 1918 Lake Charles, Louisiana, USA |
| Died | August 11, 2007 (aged 89) Place of death missing |
| Resting place | McCall Cemetery in Grand Chenier |
| Political party | Democrat |
| Spouse(s) | Virgie Annie McCall LeBleu (married 1950-2007, his death) |
| Residence | Grand Chenier in Cameron Parish Lake Charles (2005-2007) |
| Alma mater | McNeese Junior College Colorado A&M University |
| Occupation | Farmer and Cattleman |
Military Service
| |
| Service/branch | United States Army Air Corps |
| Years of service | 1942-1946 |
| Rank | Staff Sergeant |
| Battles/wars | Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations in World War II |
Glenn Conway LeBleu, known as Conway LeBleu (October 4, 1918 – October 11, 2007),[1] was a Democrat who served six terms from 1964 to 1988 as a state representative for District 36 in southwestern Louisiana, encompassing Calcasieu and Cameron parishes.[2]
Background
A native of Lake Charles, the seat of government for Calcasieu Parish, LeBleu graduated in 1935 from the former Lake Charles High School, since Lake Charles Boston High School, and joined a geophysical crew for Shell Oil. He was also a warehouse worker for Mobil Oil until 1942, when he enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps, forerunner of the Air Force. He served during World War II in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations]] and in Korea until his honorable discharge as a staff sergeant in 1946.[3]
After the war, LeBleu attended the former McNeese Junior College' in Lake Charles, and Colorado State University, then Colorado A&M University in Fort Collins, Colorado. He graduated in 1950 from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture.[3]
Career
In 1950, LeBleu wed the former Virgie Annie McCall (1918-2016), and the couple established their residence in her native Cameron Parish. Mrs. LeBleu was the daughter of the 40-year Cameron Parish School Superintendent Thomas William McCall (1884--1967) and the former Marie Portal (1887-1976), also an educator. Mrs. LeBleu was descended from Dr. Milledge Eillism McCall (1803-1880), the patriarch of the first white family to settle in the Grand Chenier area. Like her husband and parents, Virgie LeBleu was a graduate of LSU. She worked in public education in Cameron Parish and was instrumental in the establishment and the stocking of the Cameron Parish Library. During the devastating Hurricane Audrey in 1957, the LeBleus took emergency shelter in a large oak tree near their home.[4]
Conway LeBleu was a member of the Cattleman's Association, the Farm Bureau, and the Optimist Club. He was active in the Sabine River Authority, the administrative agency for Toledo Bend Reservoir. He was a member of the Louisiana Intracoastal Seaway Association, the Cameron Waterworks Board, and prior to his legislative tenure the Cameron Parish Police Jury, the parish governing body akin to the county commission in most other states.[3]
In 1964, LeBleu was elected to the state House to succeed Alvin Dyson, the three-term member from Cameron Parish.[2] LeBleu served under three governors, John J. McKeithen, Edwin Edwards, and David C. Treen. He worked to establish the Ellender Ferry Bridge and to upgrade evacuation routes from lower Cameron Parish. He also promoted tourism and sport fishing along the Gulf of Mexico.[3] LeBleu was posthumously inducted in 2014 into the Southwest District Livestock Show and Rodeo because of his work in securing funding when the Burton Coliseum in Lake Charles, the home of the show, faced the possibility of closing. His efforts kept the structure in use for several years until a local maintenance tax was passed. LeBleu supported the livestock show and rodeo further by donating prize money and awards.[5]
In his last House election, LeBleu defeated an Independent opponent, Michael Tritico, 11,764 (74.9 percent) to 3,943 (25.1 percent).[6]
Family and legacy
Conway Charles LeBleu (1962-1993), a nephew of Conway and Virgie LeBleu, was one of four agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms who were killed while searching for illegal weapons in the federal siege of the Branch Davidians compound headed by David Koresh in Waco, Texas More than eighty of the Branch Davidians died in a raid authorized in April 1993 by the Bill Clinton-appointed United States Attorney General Janet Reno after a two-month standoff. Conway Charles LeBleu, who was killed on the first day of the crisis on February 28, is interred at Consolata Cemetery in Lake Charles.[7]
LeBleu's archival material is located at McNeese State University in Lake Charles. The Conway LeBleu Memorial Bridge, also called the Gibbstown Bridge, over the Louisiana Intracoastal Waterway is named in his honor.[8]
LeBleu died a week after his 89th birthday and is interred with his wife at the McCall Cemetery in Grand Chenier in Cameron Parish.[1] Mrs. LeBleu outlived her husband by nine years. The couple moved to Lake Charles in 2005 because of the deadly Hurricane Rita.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Glenn Conway LeBleu. Findagrave.com. Retrieved on November 29, 2020.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Membership of the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812-2024 (Calcasieu and Cameron parishes). Louisiana House of Representatives. Retrieved on November 29, 2020.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Biographical Sketch. Retrieved on July 13, 2015.
- ↑ Virgie Annie McCall LeBleu. Findagrave.com. Retrieved on November 29, 2020.
- ↑ Southwest District Livestock Show & Rodeo Announces Hall of Fame Inductees. lakecharles.com (February 6, 2014). Retrieved on July 13, 2015.
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 22, 1983|accessdate=November 29, 2020}}
- ↑ Gloria Bello (December 21, 2007). Conway Charles LeBleu. Findagrave.com. Retrieved on November 29, 2020.
- ↑ Description: Conway LeBleu Memorial Bridge. bestoftheroad.com. Retrieved on July 13, 2015.
