RALPH F. LEACH

LEACH--Ralph F. Ralph F. Leach died at his home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Sunday, October 3, 2010. He was born in Elgin, Illinois on June 14, 1917, the son of Harry A. and Edith (Saunders) Leach. He graduated with an A.B. degree from the University of Chicago in 1938. Mr. Leach served as a captain in the Marine Corps from 1940-45 in the South Pacific. After his armed service, he began a highly successful financial career. He worked as an investment analyst at the Harris Trust & Savings Bank in Chicago from 1945-48 and at the Valley National Bank in Phoenix from 1948-50. From 1950-53, he was Chief of the Government Finance Section at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, DC. Mr. Leach was Treasurer of the Guarantee Trust Company in New York City from 1953-59, and Vice President and Treasurer of the Morgan Guarantee Trust Company in New York from 1959-62, and held various positions there from 1962-71. From 1971 through 1977, Ralph Leach was Chairman of the Executive Committee of J. P. Morgan and Morgan Guaranty Trust. After retiring from Morgan & Company in 1977, Mr. Leach served on many boards, including Merrill Lynch (1978-89), Southern Railway Company, the Continental Corp. in New York, and the Urban National Corp., a venture capital firm for minorities in Boston. After serving on the board of Energy Conversion Devices, Inc., a Michigan company engaged with photo-voltaic cells and other energy sources during the 1970s and 1980s, he was named Chairman Emeritus. Because of his strong interest in the arts, he supported several arts organizations, such as the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra. He also served on the board of The Juilliard School from 1963-87, and as Vice-Chairman from 1968-87. In 2009, he was awarded the President's Medal, presented by Juilliard President Joseph W. Polisi, for his exceptional encouragement of philanthropy in the arts. He is survived by his loving wife, Harriet S. Leach of Ft. Lauderdale, and his children C. David Leach and Laurie H. Leach of Dayton, Ohio, H. Randall Leach and Anne Leach of Pasadena, California, Barbara E. Leach-Bloemers and Freek Bloemers of Akersloot, Netherlands, and seven grandchildren Megan Leach McCann (John), Katherine Leach Brennaman (Jim), Justin Leach, Cara Leach, Charlotte, Heather and Christopher Leach-Bloemers, and five great-grandchildren, Zachary, Jackson and Samantha Brennaman and Walter and David McCann. He will be greatly missed by all of his family and friends. A private family service will be held in the future. Contributions in memory of Ralph F. Leach may be made to The Juilliard School.