I would like to take a moment to pay tribute to my late ex-father-in-law on what would have been his 83rd birthday tomorrow. Although we did not see eye-to-eye on many things I greatly admire this veteran of World War II, Korea, Vietnam and a tour in China. He began his military career in the Navy then switched to the Air Force from which he retired as a TSgt. and then worked for Fisher Price at the Murray, Ky plant which later became Mattel. Shortly after retiring from there his wife, Evelyn, was diagnosed with lung cancer. They had married when she was 14 and he, 16, and they remained together through the good times and bad until her death. She once told me they never argued in front of their three children and I only heard him raise his voice once and that was when a grandchild had been injured and he was frantic. During his Air Force career he took every opportunity to retrain, once engineering a train at Chanute AFB, IL after a problem with his heart and as a loadmaster in Vietnam. After losing Evelyn to cancer he remarried and took up painting. Alzheimers Disease eventually claimed the life of this remarkable gentleman, Morrell Lester Leach, USAF, ret. Happy angel birthday, Papaw.
Posted on: Tue, 01 Apr 2014 04:27:21 +0000