Leopold Chretien Obituary

SACO - Leopold (Herve) Chretien, age 92, passed away peacefully on March 15, 2019. He was a lifelong resident of Biddeford, Maine.

Born April 18, 1926 he was the son of the late Joseph and Florida (Cantara) Chretien. He was the last surviving member of his family, predeceased by his 11 brothers and sisters: Raoul, Annette, Roland, Lorraine, Lucienne, Stella, Pauline, Marie, Donald, Blanche and Henry. He is lovingly survived by numerous nephews and nieces, grand-nephews and grand-nieces.

For over 70 years, Leopold lived at various times with his sisters Blanche and Stella and brother Donald in Biddeford and Saco and was an integral part of their families. He also was very close to all of his nephews and nieces and was part of many of their family gatherings, celebrations and activities.

Leopold attended St. Joseph School. He worked for many years at the Kesselen Shoe Company in Kennebunk and at Sebago Shoes. He was a lifelong member of L'Union St. Jean Baptiste and St. Louis Alumni Association.

He proudly spent a vast amount of his time contributing to the community in various behind the scenes capacities. For over 50 years, he was the vice president of L'Union St. Jean Baptiste (St. Jean's) and in that capacity he managed the facility, ran the bar and scheduled events. He was an avid cribbage player and organized and ran the Elks-St. Jean's weekly cribbage tournament and banquet for 63 years.

He was an avid sports fan rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics, and Bruins. He was a longtime supporter of the St. Louis Eagles as a member of the St. Louis Alumni Association. His 50-plus year involvement in the association included working at the football games making 1000 boxes of popcorn the night before a game and working at the gate the day of a game. He also worked in the winter at the skating rink. He virtually attended every home and away football game of the Eagles. When the school closed, he followed the Biddeford High School sports teams. He also attended many college and professional sports games throughout his life.

For years, he continued playing cribbage and watching sports events in the TV room at St. Jean's and the Alumni Hall where he maintained connections with his longtime friends.

Visiting Hours will be 8 to 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 30, 2019 at Hope Memorial Chapel, 480 Elm St., Biddeford, ME 04005. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. on Saturday at St. Joseph Church in Biddeford. Burial will be in St. Joseph's Cemetery in Biddeford.

To share condolences online, please visit www.HopeMemorial.com.

Donations in his memory can be made to St. James Elementary School Scholarship Fund, 25 Graham St., Biddeford, Maine, 04005.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Journal Tribune on Mar. 25, 2019.

Memories and Condolences
for Leopold Chretien

3 Entries

April 8, 2019

My father first introduced me to Leo in the mid 70's, I was around 10 years old. Leo was the Vice President of the Club and the only officer my father kept on when he was elected President. My Dad always told me that Leo was the lifeblood to the club and without him, it would not survive. Leo was the worker, keeping all the inventories, meeting any potential wedding parties to view the hall, making sure the hall was staffed with Bartenders and of course getting Pere to pick up the bottles and dance with all the young women in the crowd. He was the man behind the curtain making everything seem easy. All the while, Leo was working a full time job with his brother Tiny at the shoe shop.

Leo would tell me stories about the past, my grandfather's barbershop, having to play a game of cribbage and maybe taking a shot prior to getting a haircut or how my grandfather asked him to fill in for him as chairman of the cribbage tournament against the Elks, only to find himself filling in for the next 50 years. He told me all about the big time gambling upstairs, with colorful characters like Blackie, Babe, Flame, Pepin, Tiny, KyKy the bodyguard etc, and about the great heist at the club when someone blew open the safe with explosives. The great Lobster Bakes out on the lawn where they would dig large holes and put the fixings in and cook, feeding the crowds from near and far. The Christmas parties for the mentally challenged that my Dad and Leo would put together, asking for nothing but seeing the smiles that the presents would bring. The bus rides to the Red Sox's games, I think Leo was the only one that truly remembered those as others may have been celebrating too much on the bus. He remembered everything and I was glad he did. He was a walking encyclopedia of the past; I was always fascinated with the details of his stories and almost felt like I was a part of it when walking upstairs at Club amongst the gym equipment and documents left behind by former members.

When I started checking coats at the club, it was Leo that trained me and would make sure to give me a ride home at night or have one of the officers working the door do it. When I turned 18 I asked about being trained to work the bar, which was manned by two great bartenders that had been doing it for a whileTiny and Jerry. He took me in and trained me allowing me to be a bigger part of his world.

After a new regime started at the club with myself being President, my cousin becoming Secretary and our close friend becoming Treasurer, there was still one aspect that did not change our Vice President Leo.

Leo may not have had any children, as he was married to the club, but I would be hard pressed to tell you that he did not have a profound effect on the three of us. He was that great Uncle that would tell you like it was, whether it was a free loader getting a free meal or a crooked politician presenting a put up job to his constituents Leo would let you know. In addition, it was not just my generation that he touched, my son recently spent 2 hours with Leo in the hospital listening to his stories about our great grandfather and grandfather, loving every minute of it.

Leo touched so many lives, making sure beautiful memories were obtained at the many events that he organized and seamlessly orchestrated. You will be missed Leo. I think Leo said it best, with his positive outlook on life and how grateful he was for having lived it.
Larry, I have no regrets, did what I wanted to do, enjoyed companionship with those that I loved, and will die a happy man it is all part of the game.

AC GA

March 28, 2019

Reading God's word of hope for those who have passed on is faith building and encouraging. John 6:40. He has given us the wonderful hope of life without end at last. John 3:16.

Carl Pepin

March 27, 2019

Such a nice man and such a good friend of my Uncle Maurice. Condolences to his family.

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