Grady Washington "Tripp" Leach III

1951 - 2019

Grady "Tripp" Washington Leach III passed away on Friday, May 31, 2019, at the age of 68, from early onset Alzheimer's disease.
He was born in Gadsden on Jan. 25, 1951, where he remained for most of his adult life. He was appointed and accepted to the United States Air Force Academy, which he attended for two years before returning to Alabama to complete his degree in Business at the University of Alabama and Jacksonville State University.
In 1973, Mr. Leach joined his father Grady "Red" Washington Leach Jr.'s insurance agency "Red Leach & Sons Insurance", where he spent the majority of his professional life working alongside his father and two brothers before retiring in 2015. Mr. Leach held several offices in the greater insurance industry during his career, and was particularly proud of his time as Director of the Alabama Independent Insurance Agents from 1994-2000.
After having first been exposed to early computer technology at the Air Force Academy, Mr. Leach became a pioneer in the automation and computerization of the insurance industry. For more than a decade, he traveled extensively throughout North America educating insurance professionals under the auspices of the Agency Management Services (AMS) Users' Group, an international organization in which he served in many offices over the years, including president.
He is survived by his wife of 45 years Donna Carden Leach; their two children, Grady Washington Leach IV (Misun) and Adrian Newman Leach; his devoted caregiver; daughter-in-law, Misun Park Leach; grandchildren, Josephine Carden Leach and Grady Washington Leach V; brothers, Philips Harding Leach and William Sutherland Leach; sister, Clare Leach Wheatley.
A visitation will be held at First United Methodist Church of Gadsden, where Mr. Leach held leadership positions and taught Sunday School for over 20 years, beginning at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, June 4, 2019.
The family has requested no flowers. Memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer's Disease Center Project Fund at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1720 7th Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35294-0017.