Leonard L.
Pourchot
LINCOLN - Leonard L. Pourchot, 90, passed away Thursday, March 7, 2013, at Springfield Memorial Medical Center. A retired university professor, he was living in Lincoln, Ill.
He is survived by his wife, Deloris Pourchot; brother, Eugene Pourchot; four sons: Patrick, Thomas, Eric, and Regan; nine grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.
Born in Bulpitt, Ill., he earned degrees at Eastern Illinois University, University of Wisconsin, and a doctorate in education at University of Northern Colorado. He taught at Mendota High School (Illinois), was a junior high school principal in Ripon, Wis., and was the Director of Lassen Junior College in California. He taught at Colorado State College, University of Nevada, and Northern Illinois University, where he retired after 20 years of service.
He was a founder of Thresholds in Education, a journal devoted to secondary education, and developed the "Pourchot Mechanical Manipulation Test" which measured hand tool dexterity.
After retirement, he lived in Neshkoro, Wis., with his wife, Mary Ellen (Orr) Pourchot. After her death, he moved to Blacksburg, Va., where he was married to Deloris (Gregory) Pourchot. More recently, the couple moved to Lincoln, Ill.
Pourchot served as a first sergeant in the U.S. Army in the European Theatre from 1943-46. He was awarded a Silver Star and a Purple Heart.
He estimated that he had planted over 500,000 Christmas trees in his lifetime, mostly in Adams and Marquette Counties in Wisconsin. He funded scholarships for many years at Adams-Friendship and Kincaid High Schools.
In lieu of flowers, donations to the
or North- ern Illinois University Foundation may be made in his name.
Visitation hours are 2-3 p.m. on Thursday, March 14. Services will be held at 3 p.m. on March 14 at Roseberry's Funeral Home in Friendship, Wis., followed by burial at Mount Repose Cemetery.
For directions visit www.roseberrys.com.
