Richard Leary

Richard Leary, 64, died April 9, 2011, at home after a long battle with cancer. He was born May 11, 1946, in Manhattan, N.Y., to Cornelius and Sophie Grandus Leary.

He was proud of his eight years of service in the Air Force, which included a tour in Vietnam.

After his service, Mr. Leary worked in the aerospace industry at Goodyear Aerospace and Loral, and then went to work for Honeywell. After a brief retirement, he worked for the Museum of Northern Arizona, when he moved from Glendale to Flagstaff.

One of his passions was cooking and he enjoyed sharing recipes with others. Another was bicycling. He rode many rides to raise funds for multiple sclerosis, the Taylor House in Flagstaff and for Aids Outreach. His other rides around Arizona took him to Prescott, Wickenburg, New River and Phoenix, as well as to the Grand Canyon over the old stage route numerous times. He also enjoyed hiking in the Grand Canyon and did several rim-to-rim hikes. As cancer took away his ability to ride and hike, he turned to video games and especially enjoyed playing with his grandsons and introducing them to new games. They would brag that their grandfather played video games. He was also an avid reader and amassed a very large library of science fiction and fictional and non-fictional military books.

Mr. Leary is survived by his wife, Judith; son Jeremiah; two grandsons; mother Sophie; brothers Robert, John and Thomas; and sisters Patricia Stepanovic, Joan Matthews and Debra Murphy. He was preceded in death by his father, Cornelius.

There will be a viewing today from 4 to 7 p.m. at Norvel Owens Mortuary, with a graveside service at the military cemetery in Phoenix on Tuesday, April 12, at 2 p.m.

Condolences can be sent to the family at www.norvelowensmortuary.com

Norvel Owns Mortuary is handling arrangements.