Erich Shcreiber

Erich Leonard Schreiber Returned to his heavenly home on July 16, 2010. Schreiber, who was seventy-nine, is survived by his beloved wife of forty-two years, Mary Haines, their daughter Theresa Elaine Dobbs, his grandson, August Dobbs, and his nieces and nephews and their children, as well as a myriad of others who were fortunate to call him their friend. Born on February 6, 1931 in Oakland, CA, Leonard graduated from Alhambra High School in Martinez in 1949 and served in the Navy from 1950-1954 primarily in the Mediterranean theater, during which time he acquired his pronounced thirst for travel. He graduated from UC Berkeley in 1959, and worked for The Emporium before pursuing a career in education. He drove a taxi while earning his teaching degree, which he attained in 1963, and earned his Master's Degree in Education from San Francisco State University in 1968, the same year he and Mary were wed. Leonard taught third, fourth, and fifth grade in the Mt. Diablo Unified School District from 1964 until 1987. These twenty three years of teaching brought him deep personal and professional satisfaction and his friendships with colleagues endured throughout his life. His early retirement afforded him the opportunity to develop a second career and a host of new friends in social entertaining. He was also free to develop his passion for travel and gardening while savoring his beloved Pacific Ocean. Leonard was an engaging conversationalist, who took great interest in family, friends and strangers alike and took the time to learn their stories and cared deeply about them. He was a compassionate man of impeccable manners, exceptional style, and pristine social graces. He was the epitome of class. A prodigious and committed traveler, he and Mary enjoy friends around the world, and he had a special place in his heart for the city lights, of San Francisco, New York and Paris. Leonard was a very well-rounded man: a perfect host and a wonderful guest, an affable stranger and a peerless friend, a committed patron of the arts, an accomplished teacher and an apt pupil. He will be deeply missed. A memorial service for Leonard will be held at 9:15 am on Wednesday, August 18, at St. Vincent DePaul, 2320 Green St, San Francisco. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The American Cancer Society.