Not long before he died, Gerry LeBrasseur’s daughter asked him what word best described him.
“He said he didn’t know,” said Michelle LeBrasseur Pedro.
“Then he said, ‘Wait. Michelle. Say ‘determined.’ That’s it.”’
Pedro spent a lot of time with her father in the last couple of years, getting him to jot down some of his most significant accomplishments and fondest memories. And as one might imagine, the majority of them involved sports.
That’s because Gerald Alley “Gerry” LeBrasseur, of Lynn, who died Thursday at the age of 89, belongs in the pantheon of Classical High athletic heroes, right up there with Harry Agganis, Boley Dancewicz, and Tony Thurman. He was inducted into the Classical Hall of Fame in 1991 – among the first to be so honored. His picture adorns a mural drawn by Leah Warren commemorating the city’s athletic greats; and the Rams award, an annual “Ironman of the Year” plaque – established in 1994 – to the team’s most determined player.
LeBrasseur knew a thing or two about determination. He was born with only one full arm, which is something he used to his advantage during his athletic career.
“He was especially proud of that (award),” his daughter said, “and the fact that he could be there in person to present it.
“And he always followed the careers of the players who won that award,” she said. “He was still in communication with a lot of them.”
LeBrasseur was born in 1935, grew up in Veteran’s Village, and lived in Pine Hill after marrying Elaine Donna Stevens 58 years ago.
He was always crazy about sports, especially football and hockey. He played both sports in high school and college. He also ran track, played baseball and softball and, much later in life, won trophies playing racquetball.
“He really loved racquetball,” Pedro said. “He played into his 80s. But cancer stinks, and it won.”
LeBrasseur was never deterred by his condition.
“He was never self-conscious about it,” Pedro said. “That’s how he went through life. And he succeeded. He just put his mind to it.”
Despite having one full arm, LeBrasseur played center and linebacker in football and was a defenseman in hockey.
“He had a bend in that short arm, and that’s how he held that hockey stick,” Pedro said. “He also used to use it to pound things when he did carpentry, which he loved to do. It was an all-purpose weapon.”
After spending a year as a walk-on hockey defenseman at Boston University, LeBrasseur accepted an offer to play both football and hockey at American International College.
“He was one of the first guys from Lynn to go out to AIC,” said Dr. Daniel Dill, who helped establish the Classical Hall of Fame. “After that, a lot of Lynn guys (Dill included) attended the school.”
His football accolades included six letters in a two-year varsity career, all-New England honors and small college All-America honors; Swede Nelson Award winner and being chosen for the Small College All-Star game in Mobile, Ala.
“There’s so much about his athletic career to be proud of,” she said.
Dill called LeBrasseur a legend.
“To be able to do what he did, playing two sports in college, with his limitations? He was quite a guy,” Dill said. “All those accolades are well-deserved.
“He was a true ‘ironman,’” Dill said. “He never missed a game. He was very well-respected everywhere.”
Pedro said that while LeBrasseur gave off an air “of not being warm and fuzzy,” he had a good heart.
“He was always there,” said Pedro, whose husband is Peter Pedro Jr., son of the late Lynn Trade athletic legend. “He was always supportive, always our biggest fan, and the same with his grandchildren. He always supported what we were doing, always at every event, every game.
“He loved Lynn and loved Lynn sports,” Pedro said. “He was a coach, a fan… it’s what he loved.”
