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John Leach Obituary
Warren - John G. Leach, 95, died Monday, May 7, 2012 in the Quaboag Rehabilitation & Skilled Care Center in West Brookfield.
Mr. Leach was born in Warren in 1916, the youngest child and only son of Charles H. and Jessie (Stirling) Leach and was predeceased by five older sisters, Irma (Leach) Fetter, Marion Leach, Alice Leach, Jessie (Leach) Guy, and May (Leach) Dunbar.
He graduated from Warren High School in 1933 as class president and studied commercial and advertising art in Boston, then worked in the defense sales department at the Warren Steam Pump Co. where his grandfather, John G, Leach, for whom he was named, had been one of the founders and the first president.
In 1938, he went to New York, where he became a promotional writer at Westinghouse International and then at McGraw-Hill Publishing, after which he joined Moore-Robbins Publishing and became managing editor of Advertising Agency Magazine. In 1955, he joined Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborne Advertising in that agency's Public Relations department, becoming manager of the department in 1962.
Traveling in Mexico and the Caribbean and to Europe, he became very interested in archaeology and the history of western civilization and in 1971, at the age of 55 he moved to Athens, Greece, where he lived for 20 years, indulging his interest in the past and traveling extensively in Western Europe, North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean.
He returned to Warren in 1991 at the age of 75, serving for several years as secretary of the Warren Historical Commission and once telling an interviewer, "Emotionally, I never left Warren".
He never married and is survived by several nieces, including Marion (Guy) Zurmuhlen Cahill of Coventry, CT., Elizabeth (Guy) Worthington of East Brookfield, MA., Carolyn (Guy) Godbout Weigel of Cocoa, FL., Jane (Dunbar) Aldridge of Steubenville, OH and one nephew, David L. Guy, of Harvard, MA.
There will be no funeral services or calling hours. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Warren Public Library or to the Warren Historical Commission, both P, O, Box 937, Warren, MA 01083-0937 or to any charity of the donor's choice. Varnum Funeral Home, Inc., 43 East Main St., West Brookfield is assisting the family with arrangements.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for John Leach
3 Entries
Sylvia G. Buck
May 1, 2025
I still miss John, 13 years since he died.. Recently I used a photo of him that I took when he was showing me the very old road which led from Comins Pond (before it was created) to Washington St. I included that picture in one of my historical presentations.
I've enjoyed the irony: Who was more historic, John in his 90s or the 200+ year old road?
He wrote his own obituary and insisted not a word should be changed. But it omitted many, many interesting details of John's life. One of those was his reputation as an exceptionally talented ice skater at Rockefeller Center rink in New York City. Once he accepted a challenge to skate with a professional performer from England. He admitted he had met his match that day. He kept a photo of her on his home bulletin board for years.
I still say it was a privilege to know John.
Gail Worthington
May 9, 2012
Goodbye, Uncle.
May 8, 2012
John was the consummate conversationalist, always interested in others' lives and willing to share his. He was the go-to person when we were debating use of language or grammar and he deplored the current trend of ignoring those rules. He rose high in his career, traveled far in his long life, but remembered and cared about his roots. He was a dear friend. I shall miss him very much.
Sylvia G. Buck
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