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Towson University

David Leech Obituary

Published by Legacy Remembers on Mar. 21, 2023.

David Pierpont Leech was born on February 25, 1951, in Baltimore City, to his late parents John Joseph Leech, Jr. and Betty Lee Pierpont. He is survived by his childhood sweetheart and wife of 50 years, Meredith McGuire Leech, his children, Hillary Sizemore and Duncan Leech, their spouses Nicholas and Erin, and his grandchildren, Jackson, Virginia, Leila, Tommy, and Mae, and his brothers, John, Gregory, and Steven. He was a singer, guitar player, and poet. He biked across the country twice with his wife. His love for his beloved bride permeated everything. He was a proud, dedicated, and loving husband, father, and grandfather. He truly delighted in grandparenting at any time of day or night. He helped to found The Odyssey School, was a supporter of the local 4-H clubs, and was a habitual runner. After, a career as a researcher and economist at The Institute for Policy Studies and TASC, he "retired to" sheep farming on the family farm in Silver Run. He had a lifelong love of reading, philosophy, and economics. In 2019, he received a Master of Arts from Towson University for his thesis "The Market is a Work of Art." David died, surrounded by love, on March 17th, 2023 from brain cancer. He was a true romantic and role model of what it meant to love. There will be a celebration of life held on their family farm on April 16th, 2023.

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Recent Activity

April 13, 2023

Mary Jo (Duncan's work colleague) posted to the memorial.

March 21, 2023

Hillary Sizemore posted to the memorial.

March 21, 2023

Legacy Remembers posted an obituary.

2 Entries

Mary Jo (Duncan's work colleague)

April 13, 2023

Duncan, Erin and family-my condolences on the loss of your father. What a beautifully written testament to his love of family and life, I always knew Duncan was raised by amazing parents as evident in the man he is. May the happiest of memories outweigh your sorrow. Love and hugs to you, your Mom, sister and family.

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Hillary Sizemore

March 21, 2023

My dad always had epically long comments... so we are carrying on the tradition. This is what my brother and I wanted to say in his obituary.

In Remembrance of David Pierpont Leech (February 25, 1951 to March 17, 2023) by Hillary Sizemore

My Dad, David Pierpont Leech, was born on February 25, 1951 in Baltimore City to his parents John Joseph "Jack" Leech, Jr. and Betty Lee Pierpont. In the words of his longtime friend, Cheryl Wheeler, he was a "child of changing times." He spent his childhood years with his brother´s John, Greg, and Steven in Baltimore´s neighborhoods of Edmondson Village and Charing Cross and spent time visiting his grandparent´s homes on Ingleside Avenue and Drury Lane. His father was a butcher. He would often recollect memories spent in his family´s stall (John J. Leech Veal, Lamb, and Beef) in the markets of Hollins Street, and later Cross Street.

My dad would say he had two births, the second being when he met his childhood sweetheart, Meredith Jean McGuire, at age 15. He would mischievously tell us the tale of sneaking into the Hunting Hills Pool to get to meet with her. He was a hopeless romantic. Their love was so special and permeated everything. In his youth he was a boxer, a singer, guitar player, and also a prolific poet, with his favorite subject being my mother.

He had an impish relationship with early education. From his stories, the nuns did not appreciate his mantra of "question authority" (which later evolved into "question authority, respectfully"). Despite this, he graduated from Mount St. Joseph´s in 1969. At the time, the legal age for men to marry in Maryland was 21. After foiled attempts to elope, he and my mom married on September 30th, 1972. While fixing up an old farmhouse in Oakland, Maryland he fell off the roof and their dreams of moving from the city were postponed. He was a janitor by night at Catonsville Community College, which allowed him to take classes there during the day. He and Mom did two cross country bicycle trips, one in 1974 and the second in 1977.

He got his bachelors from UMBC in 1980. He was passionate about his love for economics and philosophy. His career as an intellectual started at the liberal think tank, The Institute for Policy Studies, where he was dubbed an "Organic Intellectual." He later worked at TASC where he spent decades doing economic studies on technology and patent research.

In September 1982, my parents bought their beloved farm. Two years later, I was born in September 1984, followed by my brother in February 1989. I believe my Dad´s world view shifted when my brother and I were born. He loved being a father and was so proud of everything we did. He was a student of the great works of literature and loved imparting the wisdom of these classics to his children. He had a magical mind and he made our family´s favorite stories, like the worlds of Tolkien, come alive with theatrical voices for each character, and magical adventures in Leakin Park. He had a sparkle for changing the mundane into mystery like his trick for turning milk pink or writing letters in invisible ink that could only be read under flames. On weekend mornings, you would often find us charging around the house on imaginary horses with swords in hand listening to Wagner´s "Ride of the Valkyries." My dad affectionately gave me the nickname "woodland warrior princess" and instilled in me to question views that were sexist. He loved family trips to Nags Head beach, and despite his disdain for sand, enjoyed epic battles with the sea while making sandcastles. He started the tradition of hunting for pirate treasure at Nags Head beach. Additionally, my Dad loved music. Many of us have fond memories of him and his brothers playing music together, often John Prine, at family gatherings. I was often found sitting in the fuzzy orange guitar case. Prine, Denver, Taylor, and Wheeler, all sung by my dad, were constant favorites in the soundtrack of our lives.

My Dad always found importance in dwelling in places he respected. When I was born my parents lived in a beautiful old row house on Hollins Street that they had caringly renovated. Later, they moved back to Baltimore´s Hunting Ridge neighborhood in a quaint house on Brinkwood Road. They later reveled in the history of a pre-civil war era house in Carroll County while the house on the farm was being built. The love of old houses did not mix well with my Dad´s fear of bats, which he bravely attempted to battle with a racquetball racket on a recurring basis. While Dad had deep admiration for the old, he also embraced the new. I have distinct memories of our first computer, later our colorful Macs, and eventually his car cell phone bag that needed to be plugged into the cigarette lighter.

My Dad´s love of learning and the value he placed in education became prominent when my brother and I struggled to learn to read. He joined with other founding families to start The Odyssey School, a school for children with dyslexia, which is still thriving today. He lovingly helped to collect books for the school´s library.

In 1996 we moved to the farm, now affectionately named September Farm, in Silver Run Maryland. In the house he and my Mom designed, he had a whole room designated as a library for the books he loved. The library also became a room to showcase the art made by the little hands he loved the most. While sitting on the expansive front porch, we sat transfixed watching thunderstorms roll in from a distance and the lighting bug displays that followed. He continued to follow the leads of his family´s passions by tending an ever expanding vegetable garden and diving head first into the world of 4-H. He held the prominent title of Dairy Goat Superintendent at the Carroll County Fair. He also took up running, initially just to spite me after I told him he did not look like a runner, and made daily jogs down West Valley Lane as part of his routine for over 20 years.

He appreciated connections to the past. Thanks to Mom´s genealogical research, he was proud to find out that his ancestors have resided in Maryland since the 1600´s. He enjoyed bringing to life memories of more recent ancestors by recreating their famous recipes such as Grandmother Pierpont's peanut butter candy and ketchup. The Ketchup or "Ketsup" was often unexpectedly proffered to guests by the spoonful, much to their surprise. Shockingly, many people actually took him up on the offer. He loved oatmeal stout, wine, coffee, and chocolate. He also loved order and tidiness which he referred to as "the Pierpont gene."

Dad´s life was always marked by his philosophical nature and passion for learning. He taught economics at Stevenson and Notre Dame of Maryland University. Dad believed in being fashionably late, which panned out well for him when he was late to his meeting at the Pentagon on September 11th, 2001.

Dad was a superfan for his kids. He attended every one of our high school and college sporting events with a book in hand. He was our on-call second set of eyes, helping to read through every college paper. During this time, he adopted the pen name DPL 1.0. He would "swing by" St. Mary´s College and Washington College on his way home from work in DC to see my brother and me on random weeknights. My dad´s definition of "on the way" was expansive as evidenced by countless journeys made to help his loved ones. We continued this tradition of dinners together when I moved to Alexandria where he would wait out traffic. He would eagerly try my experimental dinners learning how to cook Indian, Thai, and other cuisines.

He was a lifelong learner. He loved to correspond with others about his intellectual interests. In 2019 he received a Master of Arts from Towson University´s Department of Humanities. His thesis "The Market is a Work of Art in a Technological Age: An Application of Heidegger´s Palimpsestuous Understanding of History" was a culmination of his passions. He was a prolific writer, both professionally and in his everyday correspondences. He wrote epically long text messages, blog responses, and emails. His most famous and anticipated was his yearly rendition of the Declaration of Independence. He loved to talk and you would often find him sitting at the dinner table hours after the meal was over engaged in a lively discussion.

My Dad embraced the expansions of his family when my brother married Erin and I married Nick. He was very excited about the grandchildren to come. He was a doting grandfather and baby whisperer extraordinaire. He loved to take care of his grandchildren (Jackson, Virginia, Leila, Tommy, and Mae), reading to them, wiping away tears with his cloth pocket handkerchief, singing them to sleep, and imparting his wisdom. His grandchildren will fondly remember snuggles on his lap listening to mythology, hearing about mythical beasts, and more recently, Paradise Lost. The grandkids would clamber onto his lap for a chance to drive the pickup truck around the farm or venture down to the mailbox. He started a grandfather´s day celebration tradition where he would gather his fellow grandparents for a crab feast in the backyard. He was selfless in his desire to make his family happy, as evidenced by the bond he formed with Stella, the farm´s border collie, at the request of my mother. In 2019, my Dad "retired to" sheep farming and he fondly referred to his new role as Assistant Shepherd. He loved to operate his tractor.

His battle with brain cancer started around his 70th birthday. He directed his interests towards reading scientific publications on brain cancer and its treatments, so he could better understand what was happening in his own beautiful mind. Thanks to the team at Johns Hopkins, he got two amazing years with his family and formed lasting memories with his youngest grandchildren. He and my mom celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in September 2022. He died on March 17th, 2023. His time feels too short, but his life was full of adventure. He was a true romantic and role model of what it meant to love. His last words to me were, "I love you."