Obituary
Harold A. Leach passed away quietly at his home on Saturday, April 15, 2023. He was born May 20,1932, the son of Howard and Ada (Casey) Leach. He married Lois Carlson in 1960.
Harold grew up in Detroit and attended Denby High, where he was a four-year letter winner and senior captain on four Detroit City Champion swimming teams. He earned a B.A. degree from Michigan State University. Upon graduation, he proudly served two years in the United States Army. He then obtained a Masters Degree in Education from Wayne State University and embarked on a 30-year teaching career, working at East Elementary School in Madison Heights and Keating Elementary School in Detroit before moving his family to Boyne City in 1969 and teaching 5th and 6th grades at Boyne City Schools until his retirement in 1995. Harold loved his tenure at Boyne City Middle School, especially teaching extra-curricular activities. He always looked out for any student that was in need. He worked as a meat cutter at Village General Store in Walloon Lake Village over many years during his summer breaks from school.
Harold was introduced to Northern Michigan while helping his father build a small resort of three rental homes on Walloon Lake called Sunterra, and then built a beautiful ranch style house for his family. Over the years he took up such hobbies as bee keeping and sailing, in addition to his highly regarded maple syrup operation. An industrious person, Harold enjoyed working on projects in and around his home, and took pride in maintaining it. He loved to travel and he and Lois had many good years of crisscrossing the country in their motorhome after his retirement.
In later years, Harold and Lois moved to North Fort Myers, Florida. His artistic side blossomed there in the form of creating cartouches, rock painting, stepping stones, treasure books and especially crafting his trademark “penny gazers” which he loved giving to other members of his retirement community.
Harold is survived by his loving wife of 63 years, Lois; daughters Valerie, Laurie, and Cindy; son, Hal; sister, Sara (Leonard) Kolodisa, and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, Howard “Bud” Leach (1987), Ada Leach (1977), sister Sylvia (Jack) Bock (2021), and son-in-law Cory Allen (2022).
Arrangements are in the care of Baldwin Brothers Funeral Home in Fort Myers, FL. Please sign his guestbook at; baldwincremation.com .
Donations in Harold Leach’s memory may be made to Little Traverse Conservancy; https://landtrust.org/memorial-or-honorarium/.
Scrappy Moore