Roger A. Leclerc

1936 - 2021

Agawam - On Thursday, January 21, Roger A. Leclerc of Agawam MA passed away after several years of illness. Roger was born in Springfield MA on October 1, 1936 to Ludger Leclerc of Quebec, Canada and Rose (Cocchi) Leclerc of Springfield, MA. The Leclerc family resided in Springfield MA, where Roger took advantage of his paper route to strengthen his leg muscles by running up and down the stairs of every apartment building on his route. In 1950, the family relocated to Agawam MA, where Roger attended school and played sports. He was well known, highly regarded and will be deeply missed by his family, friends, former colleagues, students, players in every level of the football community.

Roger is survived by his best friend, biggest fan and loving wife of 61 years, Frances (Willard) Leclerc, Agawam MA. In addition to Fran, he leaves two sons & their wives, 5 grandchildren and 3 great-grand daughters. Roger & Fran's older son, Rick & wife, Karen of Manchester NH, and grandchildren, Rick & wife Kendall, 3 great grand-daughters, Avery 9, Charlotte 6 & Vivian 2, all of Sudbury, MA and Douglas Leclerc and Emily Leclerc 14, both of Manchester, NH.

Roger's younger son, Dean & wife, Eileenmari of Suffield, CT, as well as 2 grandchildren, Mari Catherine Leclerc of Abington PA & Jeffrey Rice Leclerc of St. Petersburg, FL.

Roger had one brother, Ludger (deceased), and his wife, Pauline of Las Vegas, NV. He leaves two sisters, Veronica & husband, Edward Kennedy (deceased) of Monson, MA and Deborah & husband, Nick DePalma of Agawam MA. Roger also leaves many beloved nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.

As a student athlete in Agawam High School, Roger played basketball, baseball and football and was the class president of his senior class '54. He had the honor of playing under the renowned coach, Harmon Smith and was attended the 1952 Peanut Bowl. Roger chose Trinity College in Hartford to further his education and play college sports while remaining close to "home".  This choice made playing two sports possible under the renowned Dan Jessee.  His athletic achievements include: MVP, baseball; DIV 3 All American, Football, along with several record breaking games and seasons. His sportsmanship and excellence in two sports caught the ears and eyes of several professional scouts. Roger Leclerc was an inaugural member of the AHS Hall of Fame in 2016 and was inducted into the first Trinity Hall of Fame in 2019.

Roger was drafted by the Chicago Bears as a future in 1959,  and later in 1959 he was the 1st draft pick of the new AFL team, the Denver Bears (Broncos). Roger chose to join the NFL and he played for the Chicago Bears from 1960-66. In his 7 years with the Bears, he was an offensive center, linebacker and place kicker and played in the winning 1963 NFL Championship (Pre-Super Bowl). Roger completed his NFL career with Denver then decided it was time to take his wife and 2 young sons home to Agawam and began his 30 year career teaching Math.

Over the course of his 30 years teaching Roger coached with the Hartford Knights and in Agawam.  At AHS, Roger coached the Varsity Football and Golf teams. It was during this time that he coached his elder son, Rick, for two seasons. He was asked to start and coach the first football program at Westfield State College. His younger son, Dean, then had his year playing for his father.

After retirement from teaching and coaching Roger worked at Southwick CC where he would often entertain the younger grandchildren to many rounds of golf.  It was also during retirement that he and Fran traveled throughout New England to watch as many games / matches as they could of all the grandchildren.  Rick, Doug, Mari, Jeffrey, and Emily now have their biggest fan watching from above.  When asked about playing in the NFL, one of his quotes was "we played football for the love of the game" RL54

A Funeral Mass will be held for Roger on Saturday, November 13, 2021 at 10:30am in St. John the Evangelist Church.  The Agawam Curran-Jones Funeral Home is handling all arrangements.  Memorial contributions may be made to:

Shriners Hospital for Children    516 Carew Street    Springfield MA   01104

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital   501 St. Jude Place     Memphis TN  38105