By Ron P. Coderre

Putnam native Bob Leclair was a friend of everyone he ever met in his 80 years on God’s earth.  Fortunately I count myself as one of his best acquaintances.

One time, a few years ago, Bob said to me in his distinctive speech style, “Ron, I’ll betcha that I live to be 100 years old.”  Unfortunately he fell 20 years shy of his prediction.  But for those who knew Bob he packed enough in his 80 years that his life probably entailed more than 100 years in activities and friendships.

Bob Leclair was an unusual man by today’s standards.  The way that people move from one community to another in today’s society, he was just the opposite.  He grew up on 30 Mill Street in Putnam in the apartment inhabited by his parents Bill and Delina Leclair.  A bachelor, he remained in the apartment on 30 Mill St. throughout his adult life until a few weeks prior to his death. Not many people can say they lived in the same home all their life.  Bob Leclair could.

As a young man Bob encountered eye problems that by today may have been readily corrected.  Unfortunately for him, his eye problems limited his physical activities while most of his neighborhood friends were running the bases, dribbling a basketball or catching a football.  Determined not to be left out of activities he became one of the area’s most adept statisticians of local sports.  And he had the memory recall to back up his stats.

Sometime following his graduation from Putnam High School in 1954, thanks to modern medicine he was able to play and enjoy his favorite sport, basketball.  And play hoops he did!  On any given day Bob could be found a Murphy Recreation Park and basketball courts in the surrounding area making up for lost time.

He organized a team of high school grads and tabbed the team the Trotters, an abbreviated form of the Globe Trotters.  The team didn’t travel the world but they did take on all comers with success.  Bob became known on the hardwood for his uncanny and unorthodox twisting and turning style as he often scored on players much taller and more talented than he was.

Affectionately known as “Bobbins” by his friends, he was proud of the teams that he captained and coached to championships in the Putnam and Southbridge Adult Leagues during both summer and winter seasons.

An industrious and hardworking dedicated and loyal individual, Leclair was never idle, working at US Button and Frito-Lay his entire adult life until his retirement in 1998.  Work however never interfered with his love of basketball.  For many years he was a season’s ticket holder of his favorite professional team the Boston Celtics.

He very seldom, if ever, missed a game.  His Cadillacs with license plate identification “Celts 1” and “Celts 86” logged thousands of miles on the Mass Pike.  Always, the car was filled with friends that he treated to some of the best seats in the Boston Garden.  He often laughed about the looks he received on the highway because of the license plates.  “People often thought I was a member of the Celtics,” he would say good naturedly.

He became so well known in Boston for his love of the Celtics that Boston Magazine once featured him in a story titled, “Celtics Freaks.”  He cherished the magazine until the day he died.

Although life was good to Bob Leclair, he successfully worked through some of the curve balls that came his way.  He was especially proud of his younger brother Paul, who predeceased him.  Paul was a tremendous athlete as a young man, who died homeless on the streets of Boston.  Bob was always there for his brother until the day he received the call to come and identify the body.

He was loyal to his companion of 40 years Leonie Dauphinais and her children and grandchildren.  Bob visited her every day while she lived her last years in a local nursing home.  He unofficially adopted one of her grandchildren, Sammie.

Bob and Sammie, who suffered from a congenital heart condition, were inseparable.  Bob admired the ground Sammie walked on.  When Sammie died unexpectedly a few short years ago, the death took its toll on Bob.  It affected him mentally and in his frail condition the death was another burden on his body.  In many ways his love of Sammie probably reminded him of his days as a young man, although he never revealed that fact.

Despite the trials and tribulations life threw up as roadblocks, Bob always remained Bob.  He loved to meet and chat about old times with friends and he enjoyed driving his Cadillac around town, often running errands or transporting others to appointments.

He was proud of his sisters Denise and Jeanne and his many nieces and nephews.  He was filled with stories of their successes and would expound on their virtues and achievements.

Bob Leclair was a Putnam guy through and through.  He loved everything about his community, especially the Putnam Clippers, bleeding “Clipper Blue” until the day he died, Feb. 11, 2017.  

Bob Leclair never considered himself a hero.  In fact, he never thought he was anyone special.  And in many ways he wasn’t but his life will be remembered by those who knew him because he was an ordinary guy who did extraordinary things in life, mostly for others.

Bob, rest in peace.  You’re back home with your parents, your brother Paul, your special adoptee Sammie, your dear friend Leonie and the many others you cared about while you were on this dear earth..

 

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