John Webster LeBourgeois

John Webster LeBourgeois (born c. 1931, died March 27, 2008) was a retired Executive Director of the Louisiana Regional Planning Commission (RPC).

Personal

Mr. LeBourgeois was a native of New Orleans and a resident of Mandeville, and was married for many years to the late Antoinette (Toni) Gleason LeBourgeois. They had one son, Gregory Roy LeBourgeois.

Education

Mr. LeBourgeois graduated from St. Aloysius High School and Tulane University.

Military Service

Mr. LeBourgeois served as a Captain in the United States Army Reserve.

Career

As Executive Director of the RPC, Mr. LeBourgeois built the agency into one of the finest in the state of Louisiana. During his tenure at the RPC and as a Commissioner of the Regional Transit Authority (RTA), he pushed for the development of passenger rail service. He supported a demonstration passenger rail project into New Orleans from the Gulf Coast and a rail bus demonstration project from Kenner to downtown New Orleans during the 1984 World's Fair. He was appointed to serve as the Technical Liaison to the Chairman of the Southern Rapid Rail Transit Commission where he worked toward the implementation of passenger rail service along the Gulf Coast. He oversaw the study to determine the advisability of a rail system powered by magnetic levitation. During his tenure as Commissioner, the RTA designed and opened the first new streetcar line in the nation in 1988.

Honors

Mr. LeBourgeois was commissioned as a Kentucky Colonel by Kentucky Governor Paul Patton.

Death

Mr. LeBourgeois died of complications of diabetes. [ [http://search.nola.com/sp?aff=106&keywords=lebourgeois Obituary at nola.com] ] He was 76 years old. He is interred in St. Louis #3 Cemetery [ [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Louis_Cemetery#Saint_Louis_.233 St. Louis #3 Cemetery] ]

References