Obituaries

George Thomas Leach, “Tom”, of St. Charles, IL, passed away Friday, August 22, with his loving family by his side.

The son of the late Harry and Vivian Leach, Tom was born August 20, 1940, in Bemidji, MN. The family moved to Golden Valley, MN nine years later.

He attended Pillsbury Military Academy where he was a member of the Crack Squad and later attended Golden Valley High School. At Golden Valley, at the age of seventeen, Tom met the love of his life, Katherine Wilson.

In his youth he discovered his lifelong love for drumming and jazz music.

After high school, Tom attended the University of Minnesota.

Tom joined the Navy Air Reserves after college. After six months of training in electronics and sonar, he served for three years as a member of the Navy Air Reserves flying in anti submarine aircraft: P2V Neptunes and S2Fs. He was a lifelong lover of planes and a lifelong proud Navy man.

On September 14, 1963, Tom married the center of his world, Kathi, at St. Paul’s Episcopal church in Minneapolis. They were married for 61 years.

Professionally, Tom was a highly successful sales and marketing executive. He sold complex scientific equipment such as electron microscopes and mass spectrometers to universities, sometimes calling on Nobel laureates. He continued his executive career in the medical industry in the areas of staffing, mobile MRI, and mobile CAT scans.

He worked tirelessly in his career, providing wonderful lives for his wife, son, and daughter. In his free time, he enjoyed sailing the family’s liveaboard sailboat on Lake Michigan and he enjoyed their beautiful property in St. Charles.

Tom was preceded in death by infant daughter and son David, brother Richard, and sister Barbara.

He is survived by wife, Katherine, daughter Amy Leach and son-in-law Dave Wong, sister Mary Leach and niece Mary Stasson.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 10AM, Saturday, October 4^th at The Congregational United Church of Christ, 40W451 Fox Mill Boulevard, St. Charles, IL 60175.

Donations in Tom’s memory may be made to St. Charles Public Library Foundation, St. Charles, IL. He was a brilliant man, a lifelong learner with endless curiosity who enjoyed spending hours at the St. Charles Library. Donations may also be made to the Nature Conservancy.

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