Edward Charles LeBeau

Edward Charles LeBeau, age 95, from Scottsdale, Arizona, died Tuesday, May 27, 2025.

Faithful to God to the end and a lifelong son of the Catholic Church, Ed died true to the meaning of his name, “Protector or Guardian,” as he made sure his beloved wife of almost 68 years, Carolyn Maria LeBeau, who had died a mere 18 days earlier, was safely in the loving arms of Jesus before he left this world.

Ed was born on October 13, 1929, less than 2 weeks before the beginning of the Great Depression, in a farmhouse a few miles from the town of Marshall, MN.

He was the youngest of 5 living children born of the union of Edward LeBeau and Dorilda LeBeau, (nee Brouillette).

Ed always loved and looked up to his older siblings (Virgil, Leonard, Lucille and Bernard), all who predeceased him.

From his father, a hardworking farmer, Ed learned perseverance and from his mother he learned the power of intercessory prayer, a lifelong love of the Rosary and trust in God.

Through the 6th grade, Ed attended a one room country school where he excelled. After moving into the town of Marshall, Ed completed high school and secured a Navy scholarship to attend the University of Nebraska at Lincoln where he earned a degree in Mathematics and a Phi Beta Kappa key.

His summers during college were spent traveling to various naval bases across the United States and Ed would recount his amazement the first time a simple farm boy saw the majestic and imposing Rocky Mountains and the vast Pacific Ocean.

Paying off his debt to the government, Ed served in the U.S. Navy as an Ensign and then LT JG from 1951 to 1954.

He served two tours of duty during the Korean War on the destroyer escort, the U.S.S. McGinty, where he encountered enemy fire multiple times. Ed would later recall that it was living in close quarters with 180 men on a relatively small ship in the huge Pacific Ocean where he first learned some principles of “community life.”

After his military service and a providential discussion with his brother Bernard, Ed applied to, and was accepted into, Harvard Law School where he graduated with honors in 1957.

While he was very grateful for his success in law school, Ed would say that the real reason God had allowed him to attend Harvard was so he could meet the love of his life and future bride, Carolyn Sanromá, early upon his arrival in Massachusetts, where he was smitten at first sight.

He married Carolyn immediately after graduation in June 1957 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. The presider over Ed and Carolyn’s nuptial Mass was Carolyn’s pastor, who happened to also be a Bishop. Ed would joke that this fact ensured that he and Carolyn would have to take their commitment to each other very seriously. Their long and fruitful marriage underscored the truth of this insight.

After a brief weekend honeymoon and undaunted by both the difficulties of driving across country in 1957 and the challenges of the looming Arizona Bar exam, Ed took his bride to their new life in the growing city of Phoenix, Arizona.

Ed practiced law in metro Phoenix from 1957 to 1994 where he grew to be one of the preeminent real estate lawyers and was highly respected by his peers. Many major Phoenix landmarks arose from his legal efforts.

However, as much as he esteemed the practice of law, his true loves were God and the Catholic Church, his large extended family and his beloved City of the Lord Catholic Community that he and Carolyn co-founded.

A parishioner of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Scottsdale since 1960, Ed cherished the sacraments and liturgies of the Church and attended Mass almost daily. He was a proud member of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, where he served the less fortunate with love and humility.

After God, nothing was more important to Ed than his wife Carolyn, his six children, Melinda (Nikolas), Christopher (Jeanne), David (Madeline), Paula (Alan), Carol (Jay), James (Lauren), his 25 grandchildren and his 36 (and counting) great grandchildren.

Ed would frequently cite the scriptural passage, “as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord,” and he was profoundly grateful to God for the joyful gift that his children had all continued to love and serve God in the Catholic Church.

Only surpassed by his love of the Lord and his family was Ed’s love of, and life in, the City of the Lord Catholic Community, which he cofounded in 1974 after experiencing a deepening of his Catholic Faith in 1971.

Ed will be greatly missed, but we rejoice knowing he left this life as he lived it: trusting completely in God’s great love and mercy. He exemplified his favorite scripture passage, Micah 6:8 by “acting justly, loving mercy and walking humbly with his God.” His family and friends trust he will hear the words, “well done, good and faithful servant,” from the Lord Jesus whom he loved so fervently.

His funeral arrangements are as follows: On Thursday, May 29th at 5:00pm, a Wake, Honoring and Sharing's to be held at: Whitney & Murphy Funeral Home at 4800 E. Indian School Road Phoenix, AZ 85018. On Friday, May 30th at 10am a Funeral Mass will be held at: Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church 7655 E. Main Street Scottsdale, AZ 85251. Interment will follow the Funeral Mass: at St. Francis Cemetery 2033 N. 48th Street Phoenix, AZ 85008.

Reception will follow the Interment: City of the Lord Center at 711 W. University Drive Tempe, AZ 85281.