Margaret B. Leach

Margaret B. Leach, 93, of Watertown, died Saturday, July 1,2023 at Samaritan Summit Village where she has resided since November of 2018.

Margaret was born September 23,1929 in Cos Cob, Connecticut, the daughter of the late James P. and Margaret Izat McAloon. She attended St. Mary’s Catholic School in Connecticut and her family moved to Wellsley Island in 1944. She was a graduate of Alexandria Bay High School in 1947 and St. Lawrence University in 1951. She married Thomas P. Leach Sr. on May 3,1952 at St. Cyril’s Church in Alexandria Bay. Thomas passed away on November 15, 2013.

Margaret started teaching third grade in 1968 at Stittville Elementary School and retired from teaching in 1988. The couple motor homed from 1988-2002 and visited 49 states and took a trip to Hawaii in 1988. From 2002-2010 they lived in Charlottesville, VA near their grandchildren. They moved to Carthage in June of 2010 and lived with their daughter and son-in-law. Mary Margaret and Ralph Ferguson. She moved to Meadowbrook Terrace in August of 2018 and lived there until suffering a stroke in October of 2018 and has resided at Summit Village since.

She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Mary Margaret (Ralph) Ferguson of West Carthage, two sons, Thomas P. Leach Jr. of Cleveland, OH and James J. (Carol) Leach of Blythewood, SC., 4 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren. She is predeceased by her parents, two brothers and their wives, James and Constance Boyd McAloon and George and Mary Rose Scanlon McAloon and brothers-in-laws and spouses, John (Jack) Leach and his wife Dorothy (Derrick) Leach and Brian E. Leach and his wife, Allie (Coyne) Leach Silby. 

A Mass of Christian burial will be held 11:00am on Friday, July 7 at St. James Catholic Church, Carthage, with Rev. Todd E. Thibault officiating. Burial will be in Holland Patent Cemetery. There will be no calling hours. Arrangements are with the Bezanilla-McGraw Funeral Home. To leave a condolence, go to www.bezanillafh.com.

The family would like to thank all the staff at Summit Village for the excellent care they provided for their mother during her stay.