Edward Everett LEACH

Edward Everett Leach of Windsor, California was born December 22, 1929, in Castine, Maine. He was one of five children born to Maxwell and Gertrude Bowden Leach. He sometimes described his early childhood as idyllic, growing up on a small family farm, with all his grandparents, aunts, and uncles nearby. Both the Leach and Bowden families settled in the Down East region of Maine in the late 1600's. Stories of Ed's childhood could warm one's heart as he described church suppers, community sings, and poetry readings (he memorized Oliver Wendell Holmes "The Wonderful One-Hoss Shay"). He spoke of long winter evenings playing board games and cards, building bonfires while ice-skating on the millpond, and spending summers on the shore in a log cabin his father built at Ribame (Ri-River, Ba-Bay, Me-Meet). There were tales of hardship, too. His ill father often needed Ed's help to work the farm, including having Ed, from age nine, pull a harrow through the fields with the farm truck. Ed also needed to milk three cows before walking the proverbial mile to school in the snow. At 15, with money he'd earned scything neighbors' lawns, he bought his first car, a 1929 Nash, paying just $50. His father thought he overpaid and was proved right when the clutch promptly failed. To go up hills, Ed had to put his car in reverse, until he learned to rebuild a clutch. This early love and hardship shaped him into an amazing man. Ed was able to grow, build, and fix anything, anytime, and anywhere. In 1948, with no jobs in Maine and no money for college, he enlisted in the Navy and was just shy of discharge in 1952, when he met the love of his life, Doris Kathryn Leach, in Jacksonville FL. Ed then re-enlisted and married Doris following a whirlwind, three-month courtship. Doris pre-deceased her husband on January 4, 2013. Their 60th anniversary would have been on February 25, 2013. The Navy trained Ed as an Aviation Mechanic, but wanting more, he answered an ad in the Navy Times that was recruiting personnel for a Guided Missile Technical School. Passing the examinations with flying colors and accepted, this training enabled him to become a commissioned officer in 1962. He retired from the Navy in 1968, after two tours in Vietnam. His career continued at Point Mugu NAS in Civil Service at the Pacific Missile Center, until he retired in 1987. With this second retirement, he and Doris travelled the world and when home, they volunteered. Among many other things, he served as Foreman for the El Dorado County Grand Jury, he did taxes for senior citizens through the AARP, served on many boards and committees, painted and repaired things in his churches, was a member of the Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, and was a precinct officer for many elections. What finally slowed him down was Parkinson's disease. Although his disease progressed very slowly and he was walking with a walker until just before Christmas 2012, he nevertheless was gradually prevented from doing all the things he so loved to do. But not once, in the entire 20+ years with Parkinson's did anyone ever hear him complain about his disability or loss of function. He just kept doing whatever he could do, including altering his home to include many accessible features, knowing one day he would require their use. One of his last comments was "I have so much to be thankful for". So did we, his family, who miss him so. Edward is survived by his eldest sister, Marjorie Leach Babcock of Newburyport MA, and three daughters, Jo (Dick) Allen of Greenville SC, Jean (John) Firth of Copperas Cove, TX, and Judy (Mark) Adams of Santa Rosa, CA. He had five grandchildren, Edward (Summer) Firth, Michael Firth, Andy (Angela) Allen, Lesley Adams, and Christopher Adams. He also had five adorable great-grandchildren Matthew, Alyssa, Kate, Molly, and Addison. A graveside service with full military honors will be held at Santa Rosa Memorial Park, 1900 Franklin Avenue, Santa Rosa, at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday March 23. It will be followed immediately by a celebration of his life at 11:00 a.m. at First Congregational UCC, 2000 Humboldt St., Santa Rosa. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Parkinson's Institute and Clinical Center, 675 Almanor Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94085. SANTA ROSA MORTUARY EGGEN AND LANCE CHAPEL, 545-3747.