Elizabeth M. Leahy

JOURNEYING INTO THE UNKNOWN

July 13, 1962 - September 9, 2024

Elizabeth Leahy, a remarkable athlete, adventurer, dedicated first responder, and beloved sister and friend passed away peacefully September 9, 2024, in San Francisco. Born in Detroit, Michigan, Elizabeth lived a life defined by curiosity, kindness, courage, tenacity, self-exploration, and an unwavering commitment to excellence.

It would be easy to fill pages listing Elizabeth's achievements. Her life story is marked by tales of extraordinary feats of strength and courage, of immersive adventures exploring some of the most remote places on earth.

Were she here to read this, she'd blush and adjust her thick head of hair, pushing it around till she found her composure. She'd balk to see the accolades she's so deservedly earned over the years appear in print. Gently, but firmly, she'd explain that those deeds don't define her. She was fortunate to have a body built for endurance and strength and a mindset to match, making her a natural athlete in the water and on land.

Her humility would come as no surprise to anyone who knew her. She was never motivated by the medals or the awards. She lived her life competing fearlessly with exactly one person: Elizabeth Leahy. Her wins and losses were for her to learn from, so she could do better. She never imposed those expectations on the people around her. She was a person who listened deeply and spoke only when she felt she had something worthy to say. Rarely did that include stories that placed her squarely in the spotlight.

In fact, if all the people who loved her, respected her, and called her friend were gathered in a room together very few would be able to raise their hand and say they knew Elizabeth was an All-American swimmer in high school. She could have easily accepted one of the scholarship offers she received but chose instead to challenge herself in a new way, rowing crew for the University of Michigan. In her first year, she rowed in a Novice-Four, the first U of M boat to win a medal in a major regatta. She was also an accomplished sailor and an equestrian, traveling to Spain, Iceland, France, Argentina, and Peru, among other places, to ride horses, native to those countries.

Elizabeth was so much more than a competitive athlete. She was a writer of lyrical prose. From childhood till the end of her life, she found peace putting pen to paper. Her work appeared in small journals, but more than anything writing helped her make sense of her place in the world, helped her cope with the tragedies and the triumphs of a life as a first responder.

For sixteen years she served as a firefighter for The San Francisco Fire Department, where she was held in high esteem among her peers for her calm focus, dedication, courage, and her competence.

Early in her career, Elizabeth was assigned to a Surf Rescue station, where specially trained members respond to emergencies in the waters surrounding San Francisco. At the time she did not have much open-water swimming experience. She had been a sprinter for most of her competitive life in the pool. As a rescue swimmer, she had to be capable of cutting through the giant swells, choppy waters, and riptides around the Bay built by sandbars, shoals, wind and the strong flood and ebb currents around the Golden Gate Bridge. As is true of so many stories that involve Elizabeth, passing the Surf Rescue certification training was a starting point. She wanted to test her limits in the water, and in 2002, at 40 years old, she made the daunting swim from England to France, crossing the English Channel in 14 hours and 49 minutes. In 2004, her training tipped the scales when she led the rescue of two sailors in treacherous ocean conditions. For this act, she was awarded a Class A Meritorious Award for bravery and heroism, the highest honor bestowed on a firefighter.

There was one passion Elizabeth found impossible to hide. The Himalayan Mountains called to her nomadic heart again and again. Over the years she returned seven times, going on month-long expedition-style treks that took her from the west end of the Himalayas in Ladakh to central Nepal to Bhutan in the East. In Peter Matthiessen's The Snow Leopard, one particular passage resonated deeply with Elizabeth's spirit:

"In another life-this isn't what I know, but how I feel-these mountains were my home; there is a rising of forgotten knowledge, like a spring from hidden aquifers under the earth. To glimpse one's own true nature is a kind of homegoing, to a place East of the Sun, West of the Moon-the homegoing that needs no home, like that waterfall on the upper Suli Gad that turns to mist before touching the earth and rises once again into the sky."

Elizabeth Leahy's life was a testament to the power of determination, courage, and a passion for life. She will be remembered not only for her remarkable achievements but also for the calm strength and focus she brought to every endeavor. For those fortunate enough to know her, the loss of her voice, her laughter, her wisdom, compassion and care leaves a void impossible to fill. She dedicated her life to exploring the limits of her physical strength and to finding meaning in every human experience between joy and pain. Her legacy will continue to inspire all who knew her and those who hear her story.

She is survived by sisters Anne E. Prada and Mary Kay Buzolits; brothers John W. Leahy (Julie), and Michael F. Leahy (Sandra), and by their children: Adriana (Jared) Prada-Au Yeung, Daniel (Shaelyn) Prada; Maren (Drew) O'Donnel, Kevin (Kathleen) Leahy and Bryan Leahy; Frank and Jane Leahy; Hannah, Henry and Lucy Buzolits.

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In 2023, 72 percent of active firefighters' deaths were due to occupational cancer, according to the International Association of Fire Fighters. If you wish to honor Elizabeth's life, please consider a donation to the San Francisco Firefighters Cancer Prevention Foundation.