Robert Edward Leake Jr.

Robert Edward Leake, Jr. of Covington, Louisiana, 94, died on March 16. He was born in Lake Charles, LA, to Robert E. Leake and Marie Landry Leake, and was married to Frances Lee Fields and then to Martha Ellis Lea. He is survived by his children Robert E. Leake III, Victoria Kennedy, William Fields Leake, and Rebekah Winters, stepson Paul Lea and stepdaughter Janet Lea Street, and by five grandchildren, four step-grandchildren, and eleven great-grandchildren. Bob graduated from the School of Law at LSU, where he was a member of Kappa Sigma and of the 1945 LSU golf team. He served many years on the Law School Board of Alumni Trustees and was named LSU Law Center Alumnus of the Year for 1996. He followed Tiger football and baseball with a passion and loved his university. His distinguished law career in New Orleans lasted 59 years, and he retired in 2007 from the firm of Leake and Andersson. He served the profession as president of the New Orleans Bar Association, Executive Committee member of the Louisiana State Bar Association, and delegate to the American Bar Association. He was also president of the International Association of Defense Counsel and was named Lawyer of the Year by the Louisiana Bar Foundation. Bob was a devoted golfer and especially cherished his membership in the "R.O.B.s" of Tchefuncta Country Club. From an early age, he loved the outdoors and became an avid bird watcher and gardener. He loved to dig, to plant, and to pluck the blooms of life. Above all, his heart was "filled with the sound of music." He expressed his lifelong love of singing by performing in college musicals, in the New Orleans Opera Association Chorus, and in church choirs. After moving to Christwood retirement community in Covington, he organized and led the Christwood Singers and gave informal talks on opera. He was dearly loved and respected by his family; he loved his fellow man and lived with vigor; he trusted to the benevolence of God. A celebration of life will be held at Christ Episcopal Church, Covington, on Monday, March 21 at 11 a.m. with interment at Lake Lawn Cemetery, Metairie, at 3 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the New Orleans Opera Endowment Fund or to the charity of your choice.