Over the years Covington has become the chosen home for many people from around the world. They come here to visit family, work, and even retire. Here is one of the most interesting.
Leandre Marechal was born on October 31, 1898, in Liège, Belgium. He died at the age of 78 years in Covington on February 18, 1977, following a prolonged illness. Marechal, a retired Belgian diplomat, lawyer, and economist, had received the Croix de Guerre for distinguished service in the Belgian Army Signal Corps during World War I.
He attended the University of Liege and came to New Orleans in 1921.
Although he had been secretary to the Honorary Consulate since 1923, his service with the diplomatic corps began in 1929 when the New Orleans office achieved consular status. He was Vice-Consul in New Orleans at the time of his transfer in 1949 to Washington, D.C., where he achieved the highest rank in the Career Service, Director of Chancellery, from which post he retired in 1969.
Marechal received his law degree from Loyola University in 1936, and he lectured in civil law at Loyola from then until 1948. He received his juris doctor degree in 1943 from Loyola.
He served as a member of the council of the Louisiana State Law Institute and collaborated in translation from the French and in the preparation of the Planiol Civil Law Treatise and the Civil Code of Louisiana.
During his stay in Washington he served on numerous international tariff—committees, and was well known in the U.S. State Department and the Bureau Of Customs.
The Belgian Government awarded numerous civilian honors to Marechal, including that of Officer of the Order of Leopold II, the 'Medal of King Albert I', the Civil Cross of the First Order, and Officer of the Order of the Crown.
He had visited Covington frequently since 1958 and moved there permanently in June of 1976. Following his death, private funeral services were conducted by Rev. Maur Robira, O.S.B. at Schoen Funeral in Covington with interment in Our Lady of Peace Cemetery.
Information provided by newspaper obituary
