First Rate Care

Ralph LeBlanc

Ralph is known for his wonderful stories. Ralph tells the story of walking home from Cisco Country School with his brother and seeing their house on fire! Everything burned including the Easter clothes his Mother had ordered from the Sears catalog. The family had tried them on only the evening before. Each child standing on top of the dining room table, primping and turning, showing off, and laughing….now all ashes.

Ralph was born on October 31, 1934 in the home that burned. He was one of 12 children: Loren, Aimee, Frances, Ralph, Darrell, George, Jeanette, Vernon, Larry, Jim, Stephen, and a sister was stillborn. His parents were Phillip and Clara (Huot) LeBlanc.

Ralph attended Cisco Country School thru the eighth grade and then Erskine High School. He worked for their neighbor who was a farmer and worked for a while in Montana. He then ventured off to Minneapolis where he worked a short time for Donaldson's Department Store & Sears and then was a Supervisor at Honeywell for 19 years.

Ralph married Lois Rude from Fertile. They had 4 children: Sherry, Mark, Cathy, & John. They have 8 grandchildren, 2 step grandchildren, and 7 great grandchildren.

In 1967, Ralph & Lois obtained their real estate licenses and worked for Dave Anderson Realty in Columbia Heights. Lois then went on to obtain a Broker's license and in 1971, they decided to leave Minneapolis and move their family to Fertile, where they opened LeBlanc Real Estate.

Ralph also started 'Action Advertising', a business that created placemats and menus for restaurants in Minnesota and North Dakota. Ralph and Lois enjoyed travelling around together selling advertising, meeting, and assisting restaurant owners.

Ralph and Lois were very involved with the TEC Program (Teens Encounter for Christ) from 1977 to 2004. TEC is a three-day retreat weekend based on the Paschal Mystery: the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They were Directors for many weekends, held many positions, and were instrumental in starting Central Minnesota TEC and Red River Valley TEC. Ralph's life took a drastic turn when he suffered a massive stroke in 1996, He wasn't expected to live at the time, but being the strong man that he is, he pulled through. He spent 3 ½ months in the hospital and in Rehab before being able to return home.

The stroke forced Ralph to retire from their businesses. Lois continued working until 2007 when they sold the real estate business to their daughter. Their legacy continues as "LeBlanc Realty" (now located in Crookston) has now been operating for over 50 years.

Ralph fell and broke his hip in March of 2017. Ralph is now living in the Fair Meadow Nursing Home where he continues his story telling.