Jack W. Leech

Jack W. Leech Jack Leech, 84, went to meet his Lord on Feb. 14, 2004. A devoted husband of 49 years to Doris Ristvet Leech, father and grandfather, he enjoyed world travel, Husky football, and spending time on Hood Canal and in Steilacoom, his home for his entire life. Jack was born July 12, 1919, in the dining room of his family home on Starling Street in Steilacoom. He was the grandson of W.L. Bair, the original proprietor of the Bair Drug & Hardware store, and Hattie Bair, who ran the Waverly Hotel (now the E.R. Rogers Restaurant) and the Iron Springs Hotel in the mid-late 1800s. Jack's parents, Bill and Eudocia Leech, continued to operate Bair Drug & Hardware and also built and managed the Town's post office into the mid 1900s. Jack grew up in Steilacoom, attending Pioneer grade school in town, then Lincoln High School in Tacoma. He graduated from the Business School at the University of Washington in 1942. After serving in England during World War II, he returned to Steilacoom to embark on a 35-year career with the National Bank of Washington (now Wells Fargo), where he retired as Vice President in charge of Trust in 1982. In Steila- coom, Jack Leech served on numerous town commissions, as Master of the Masonic Lodge, and as treasurer for Oberlin Congregational Church for more than a decade. He is a benefactor of the UW Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity and the Tyee Association. Jack is survived by his wife Doris; sons and daughters-in-law David and Naoma Malanca of Yakima, and John and Brenda Leech of Steilacoom; six grand-children, Zachary, Andy and Matt Malanca, and Lauren, Jackson and Jordan Leech; as well as many cousins and friends whom he loved dearly. Services will be held at Oberlin Church in Steilacoom on Sunday, Feb. 22, at 2:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made to the Oberlin Church Youth Program. Arrangements by Mountain View Funeral Home, 584-0252. Please sign the online guest book at www.mountainviewtacoma.com.