One point five — that’s the average number of degrees each of the nine siblings in the LeFebvre family has ever, ever, in the LeFebvre family did anyone presume that education ended when a child graduated from high school. It was just assumed, says Hélène, the baby of the family, that all the children would go on to attend university. And since the family’s roots were firmly planted in northern Alberta’s francophone soil, and the U of A has a French faculty — Campus Saint-Jean — the university-of-choice was the University of Alberta. First there was Ernest, who earned his BEd in 1968, BCom in 1981 and MEd in 1988; then Adrienne earned her BEd in 1969; Bernadette got her BA in 1970 and her BLS in 1974; Sylvain received his BSc in Chemistry in 1973; Constance obtained her BEd in 1974 and her MEd in 1998; Denise earned her BEd in 1975; Julie completed her BEd in 1979; Juliette finished her BSc in 1979 and after-degree BEd in 1988; and, finally, Hélène convocated with her BSc in Mechanical Engineering in 1987. Fourteen U of A degrees divided by nine children. Reflecting on her family’s educational legacy, Hélène says her mother, Rollande, and father, Sylvain, created an environment within the family that encouraged sharing knowledge. “It was a basic instinct. My dad [a teacher] believed that education was Rollande LeFebvre: a woman who left a formidable educational legacy through her nine children, was born in 1924, grew up on a farm near Legal, Alberta, and never finished high school.
40
new trail
everything, and both parents always encouraged us to think about, ‘How are you going to give something back to the world?’ ” When Rollande and Sylvain married in 1946, they settled in Edmonton, where their first three children were born. Then, the North beckoned, and the family moved to McLennan in the Peace Country where three more children were born. Sylvain, meanwhile, taught in a one-room school, while Rollande home-schooled the three oldest children. Then, the family picked up and moved to the St. Paul area where Sylvain assumed the superintendent’s position in the Catholic School Board. The last three children were born in St. Paul. Eventually, the family moved to Fort McMurray where Sylvain was also the superintendent of schools. In 1970, however, Sylvain was admitted to the Royal Alexandra Hospital, suffering complications from diabetes. They were trying times, Hélène recalls. And in 1972, on a mid-winter’s February day, the patriarch of the family died. What was Rollande to do now? With three children still living at home and three attending the U of A, Rollande didn’t take long to decide to buy a house in Edmonton, on 112 Street, south of the University. Once in the new house, Hélène said to her children: “I’ll provide room and board.” Bernadette, Sylvain and Denise continued to study at the U of A. Two others attended secondary school, and Hélène attended elementary school. “My mom ran the house on very little money, which included a small Alberta Teachers’ Association pension and a Canada Pension Plan widow’s benefit,” explains Hélène.