PORTLAND and VAN BUREN Kathleen “Kay” A. LeBrun, 86, died peacefully Friday, Jan. 25, 2008, at Saint Joseph’s Manor, Portland, where she had resided for two weeks. She lived with inoperable cancer for two and a half years, gracefully and stoically through to her final days. She was born Oct. 1, 1921, in Van Buren, the daughter of Frederick and Homerine (Keegan) Murphy. She was educated in Van Buren schools and after high school, studied at New York Institute of Dietetics, New York City. In 1946 she married Reno LeBrun and they soon moved to Limestone, where they lived for more than 40 years. Kay and her husband owned and operated the Star Theatre for 15 years and Fairview Apartments for 24 years. She was also employed by Casco Northern Bank for 15 years. Kay found running a theatre to be an interesting life, especially when it was the town’s primary entertainment center, and even while competing with the advent of TV. Television was not allowed in the LeBrun home in the early days, according to daughter, Renee. Every year, Kay and her husband hosted the town’s annual Christmas party at the theatre, complete with Santa, goodies and holiday matinees for the children and families. She was a Girl Scout and Cub Scout mother, assisting with activities, especially if they involved nature. She was an outdoor enthusiast like her husband, and together they enjoyed camping, hiking, boating, skiing, fishing and bird hunting. They took numerous trips to New Brunswick and Quebec in all seasons for wilderness out-ings and skiing. As a young woman, she once was Van Buren’s Winter Carnival Queen. When asked about it, she said she was crowned not for her beauty, but because she out skied and skated the other girls.
KATHLEEN ‘KAY’ LEBRUN
