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In memory of
Mrs. Fadua Roedan LeBlanc
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Fadua's obituary
Fadua Altagracia Roedan LeBlanc passed away peacefully in her sleep last Sunday, June 20, 2021, at the age of 73. After a long battle with Alzheimer’s and Dementia, she is now in heaven with her husband, parents and several brothers, sisters, and dear friends.
Fadua’s was born in the Dominican Republic and her parents were Manuel Roedan “Papa Manuel” and Elena Hernandez Roedan “Mama Coco”. She was the youngest of 9 children: Milagros, Gabriel, Rafael, Miguel, Guillermo, Elanita, Gisella, and Tamara. Her sister Tamara used to walk her to school to protect her as most of her brothers and sisters were adults when she was born. After completing high school, she moved to New York City to learn English and worked as a secretary for a shipping company. She grew up with a strong Catholic faith and would go on to bring many people to know Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and the Holy Spirit.
Fadua met her husband, Steven Jude LeBlanc, on a blind date that was arranged by Enrique and Ana Alsace. After just one date, Steve knew he wanted to marry Fadua; and they got married on January 17, 1970. They had 2 children, Michael and Cher, and were married for 42 years, when Steve passed away. Fadua is survived by her daughter, Cher DeLourdes LeBlanc, her son, Michael John LeBlanc; her daughter in law, Michelle Smith LeBlanc; and her two grandchildren, Brett LeBlanc, and Sean LeBlanc. In 1972, they moved to Louisiana, where the LeBlanc family resided so Steve could get a job recommendation from his family at the local refinery in Baton Rouge.
Even though Fadua was born the youngest “princess” of nine children in the Roedan family; a family of earned honor, Christianity, respect, and prestige, Fadua was brought up and taught to be very humble and hard working. She consistently put others before herself and was someone who anyone could always turn to for prayers, uplift, help and warmth.
Fadua was definitely “the woman behind the man” as her husband Steve and countless others banded together to build up a company called Caleb Brett. Fadua was a prayer warrior and her prayers surely helped attract and bring together so many stewards of good will, hard-working, honorable, grateful, humble, and “family like” individuals to this company. She absolutely was instrumental during good times and rough times as the company grew and eventually surpassed 7,000 employees before becoming a publicly traded corporation (Intertek). Although she was a housewife of one of the company’s most senior executives, she humbly and quietly cleaned the bathrooms and floors and took out the trash, at night for this company when she moved to Philadelphia.
When Fadua and her family left Louisiana, where they were surrounded by friends and family, she arrived in Philadelphia in 1975, where she was often alone because Steve travelled so much for work. It was there that some women from the neighborhood, who would immediately become “family”, helped her understand how to put your kids in school, how to raise a family in a city, they even taught her how to drive a car. These incredible, loving, faith based, unselfish women, together with Fadua, eventually were named “The Lamb Road Looneys”, a term of endearment and affection, known forever by all their children and many others who are reading this story.
In 1977, Fadua’s daughter, Cher, had her first brain surgery at the age of 4 at Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia. Fadua’s faith stayed strong and countless friends and family, some travelling mighty long distances, prayed with her, cooked meals, helped take care of her family, and so much more. Cher would go on to have 3 more surgeries before her brain tumor had to be removed; an inoperable tumor in 1989. At the hands of God and Dr. Bruce, Cher survived the 17-hour surgery performed in Dallas, and eventually was discharged after 6 months. During that time, the company allowed Steve to take off from work, with pay and without doubt, and enabled him to be with Fadua and their daughter. So many prayers and long days in Dallas, Texas, where Gisella, Ramonita, Janice, Linda, Beverly, Bobby and so many precious others drove and flew in to help Fadua and Cher, at all hours, 24/7. Fadua became the primary care giver to Cher in 1989, as years of rehabilitation, therapy and surgeries lay ahead.
Even though it could be said that Fadua “had some tough times”, her faith never wavered, and she continuously thanked God for all her blessings. Her husband, Steve, would always buy her nice and fancy gifts because he would always say “my bubba deserves it”, but she would always say, “take it back! All I want is Health, Peace and Happiness! And that does not cost a thing!”… a saying that became a creed, a way of life, for many of those who knew her… “HPH!”. Fadua was never a fan of the “pop in” as the house had to be spotless (even though it always was) and each time Steve wanted to throw her a party, or surprise her by flying in a loved one, she always called unexpected events like that a “Hullabaloo”. Many friends became family and Fadua’s children grew confused about how many aunts, uncles, and cousins they had all over the world. She called her mother, Mama Coco, every day - every single day. Fadua has a great niece named Fadua, a Lebanese name, that means heroism and self-sacrifice, as her father was from Lebanon.
Fadua always kept an alter with ceramic statues of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and many saints along with a candle that always had to be burning. She made sure each member of her family got down on their knees each night and prayed together and when she and Steve tucked their kids into bed, they would always say “dream about good things”.
As Fadua watched her only son get married in 1994, she cried a lot during the wedding. She would go on to apologize to her new daughter, Michelle, for 2 decades, worried that her tears back then would be mis-interpreted as her not wanting Michelle to marry her son; so, to say that she worried about things too much is an understatement. Fadua loved her 2 grandchildren, Brett and Sean very much and only spoke to them in Spanish. Fadua and Steve would always take them to go see “los patos” and give them more candy than they needed. Fadua celebrated Christmas, but on every Wise Men’s Day, January 6th, she would lay out one meaningful gift at the foot of everyone’s bed, as they did not celebrate Christmas in the Dominican Republic when she was a child, only “Dia de los Reyes Magos”. Today, both of her grandsons are bi-lingual men of faith and took an active part in her caretaking as her illness worsened.
As a result of the 17-hour surgery, her daughter, Cher, began having terrible night tremors and bad realistic dreams that made her scream (very loud) every single night. As much as her family would beg her to please take a break from her caregiving role, she only accepted a forced vacation away from caregiving twice, for less than 5 days each trip. Fadua’s love and dedication to her daughter was so deep that she only got a full night’s sleep less than 10 times in 25 years, getting up countless times each night. It was only in 2016, after 27 years of caregiving, that her own illness allowed her to sleep throughout the night without waking up. She still thanked God everyday for all her blessings.
As Fadua entered life’s final lap, she was cared for most wonderfully, as she deserved, by her daughter, Michelle, and by a precious caregiver named Wanda. She was surrounded with love every day of her life. She loved eating Pizza from Pizza Hut, M&M Peanuts, Andes Mints, and her favorite drink changed from 7 Up to Sweet Tea over the years. She loved listening to Merengue Music, Diana Ross, Elton John, Celine Dion, and a few others. She liked wearing the colors red and yellow and even though she would say that they were too expensive, she would keep the flowers she received.
You will not find her name on a building, but she enabled dozens to be built. You will not see her name on a company letterhead, but she directly and indirectly founded quite a few, truth be told.
There was one thing that was promised to her and her sister, Gisella, who was a prayer warrior and miracle worker like her. The promise is that a Prayer Fountain be built in a small town in the Dominican Republic outside a church in a park. This HPH Prayer Fountain that will outlive everyone alive today and will be a place to pray in peace for a miracle, thank God for your blessings, comfort a worried heart, pray for a troubled soul, and show the Light to lost souls. This WILL be built.
The funeral, procession, and burial for Fadua will be held on July 24th in the Dominican Republic where there will already be many flowers. She will be laid to rest next to her husband as they were both able to choose their final resting place. Fadua gave so much more than she took from this world, and it is a certainty that she rests is peace and is now able to hear our prayers.
The LeBlanc / Roedan family is inviting anyone who knew Fadua to be a part of this Prayer Fountain, with their own family name inscribed into the marble, just as she would have wanted it, for free. Please contact her son, Michael, for details (below) and may God bless you all with HPH.
Funeral Home in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic:
Name: Funeria Blandino
Tel #: 1-809-533-3232
Website: https://blandino.com.do/
Cemetery in the Dominican Republic:
Name: Puerta Del Cielo
Tel #: 1-809-732-2852
Website: https://www.puertadelcielo.co…
Contact Michael LeBlanc for Details:
Tel #: 1-713-870-2042
Email: mjleblanc@leblanc-resources.c…
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Created with love by
Michael LeBlanc (Fadua's son).
