Joseph Andrew Leach

Joseph Andrew Leach, 68, of Charlotte, North Carolina, passed away at Carolinas Medical Center on February 20, 2026.

Andrew was born in Norfolk, Virgina in 1957, the fourth child of Frank Roger Leach Jr. and Dorris Knebel Leach. As the baby of the family, he was blessed to be pampered and guided by his older brothers and sisters. He graduated from Lafayette High School in Williamsburg and was fortunate while there to play football alongside NFL greats Lawrence Taylor and Ron Springs. He held a lifelong passion and love for sports, having been taught golf by his father, and racquetball, which he played competitively at the state level for many years.

After a brief stint in Nebraska, he returned to Williamsburg and began his career in the restaurant business, where his passion for food and wine was ignited. When he met his wife Jeri, he was a Captain at the Williamsburg Inn. He went on to manage front-of-house operations for Hyatt and Marriott restaurants until he decided to shift his focus to the wine and spirits business.

After starting out as a Wine Sales Consultant, he moved on to serve as a Regional Manager for international fine wine firms, including the great champagne house Veuve Clicquot and Seagram Chateau and Estate Wines Co. In those roles, he traveled extensively throughout the mid-Atlantic region, California, and Europe. While he appreciated all great wine, his first love was for the chateaus of France. He traveled in France extensively, tasting wine and walking the vineyards with master vintners.

In the late 1990s, he pulled back from the heavy travel required by regional sales to return to more local sales, restaurant consulting, and speaking engagements so that he could spend more time with his two boys. He was an enthusiastic and tireless coach of youth sports, including Sardis Baseball and St. Stephen UMC Basketball. As a Boy Scout leader, he joined his boys on monthly camping trips to our beloved NC mountains and guided his oldest son to become an Eagle Scout. His positive impact on the youth of our community was broad and deep.

He met his wife Jeri in 1981, and they were married in 1982 when she was 22 and he was 25. Their 43-year marriage was a true partnership of love and commitment, with their first priority always being their sons. Once their boys were in college, they began to travel together and with dear friends, visiting Italy several times, as well as France (where he took Jeri to all his favorite chateaus), and Spain. Even in the last five years when he had limited mobility due to significant hip and back issues, he still loved to travel with his family. The couple took their boys and daughter-in-law to experience Rome, enjoy a large Leach family reunion in Ireland, and journey to Scotland with Jeri's brother and niece. While he didn't get to play himself, he cheered the kids and his brother-in-law on as they played golf along the North Sea at one of Scotland's top 5 courses. Andrew's heart for serving others and passion for sports, including support of the Charlotte Hornets and Carolina Panthers, lives on in his two sons.

Andrew is survived by his wife Jeri Jack Leach, his son Jacob William Leach and daughter-in-law Hallie Edwards Leach, his son Benjamin Andrew Leach, his brother Frank 'Skip' Roger Leach III, his sister Nancy Gail Leach, nieces and nephews Frank 'Sean' Roger Leach IV, Magnus Spencer Johnson, Heather Renee Leach, and Amber Leach Spivey, and great nieces and nephews Christian Isiah Leach, Ashland Mariah Trebilcock, Frank 'Garrett' Roger Leach V, Rissa Lorena Spivey, Emma Marie Spivey, Joseph Bennett Spivey, Odin Indra Johnson, Mitra Varuna Johnson, Frey Spencer Johnson, and Loki Ingvi Johnson. Andrew is predeceased by his parents, his sister Barbara Leach Cummings, and his sister-in-law Cathy Roberts Leach.

A service will be held at St. Stephen United Methodist Church, 6800 Sardis Road, Charlotte, NC on Sunday March 1st at 2:30 PM EST and live streamed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW6AL5YE93I. A Celebration of Life party will be held immediately following the service at the Leach family home. To honor Andrew's memory, contributions can be made to St. Stephen United Methodist Church at https://www.ststephenumc.net/give. Please list Andrew Leach in the Memo section so your donation will be earmarked for Youth Sports.