Obituary of Lewon Leek

Lewon “Larry” Leek August 3rd, 1921 - July 4th 2009 Larry was born August 3rd, 1921 in Hickman, Kentucky and passed away July 4th, 2009 in Gig Harbor, Washington, he was 87. He was the oldest of three surviving children born to Madison Martin and Beulah May Leek (Bruer). He finally succumbed after struggling with multiple health problems in the last year of his long life. He was also dealing with the heartache of losing his wife to Alzheimer’s in October of 2008. Larry is survived by his daughter, Pamela Ruud of Gig Harbor, WA; two grandchildren, Jade Heather of Gig Harbor; Zachary Scott of Tacoma; two great-grandchildren, Alyssa Alexandra and Dustin Orien; his brother Madison “Matt” Leek and Sister Bernie Walls, of Paducah, Kentucky, many nieces, nephews and friends, including best friend Ralph Willard. Larry is preceded in death by his first born brother Madison Martin (died at birth 04/07/1920); his twin brother Matt Jr. (died at birth 08/03/1921); his parents Madison and Beulah; his wife Shirley Irene Leek; his son, Larry “Scott” Leek, and many friends, including his best man and good friend Eddy. Larry grew up in Paducah, Kentucky with his loving parents, Brother Matt, and Sister Bernie. He was raised during “the depression”, and was only 16 when his family survived “The Ohio Valley Flood of 1937” in which 90% of Paducah was under water, and 27,000 people were evacuated from their homes. His family was rescued by boat from the second story window. Even though Larry only attended school through 8th grade, his maturity and connections made him a successful and an accomplished individual. Larry’s interest of “the automobile” led him to doing what he loved. He was a “body man“, but had many skills which made him a “jack of all trades”. His daughter, Pam said,” Bring it to my dad; he can fix anything”. He had many skills and loved building and creating things with his bare hands. Larry was drafted into the army in 1942. He served in the armed forces with is Brother Matt. Larry was stationed in Guadalcanal. He served through1944. He and his parents moved to Seattle, after the World War II. He built a house on Beacon Hill in Seattle for his parents. Most of his family from Kentucky traveled up here to see them. Back in the day, he loved to gather with friends listen to the “Big Band” and dance. He attended Fred Astaire Dance Studio, because he waned to impress the ladies. He “batched” with his friend Eddy, they enjoyed going to nightclubs on highway 99, also know as “the strip”. Eventually, he decided to settle down, Shirley and he were married on November 19th 1955, in Vancouver, B.C. Shirley was his Canadian wife, they moved to Seattle, to start their new life together. They both worked hard and still found time to enjoy going out with friends and dancing. After they had children, (Pam and Scotty) they liked to camp, and travel in “the trailer”, ride dirt bikes, and visited many places on the coast and mountains. Sadly, the family suffered the tragic loss of “Scotty” in a drowning accident, on May 28th 1984. Scott (21 years) and his girl friend Debbie drowned at Green River Gorge. Larry retired in 1984, he and Shirley enjoyed many retirement years, in Yuma AZ. They were snowbirds and loved visiting their friends. They enjoyed many vacations. They visited Europe, Hong Kong, Hawaii, Mexico, Costa Rico, Bahamas, Alaska, just to name a few, and loved to travel and took cruises with close friends. Larry and Shirley loved having their grandchildren visit and vacationed with them to Disneyland, Disney World, Kentucky, and Canada. Some adventures were traveling in their motor home. Even though he loved to work he always made time for family. Whether he was having diner with his daughter, watching the birds with his granddaughter, or riding bikes and pretending they were horses with his great-granddaughter, he was always knew how to make us smile. Family was important to him. Even though Larry went legally blind in his eighties, that didn’t stop him from being a hoot. He loved to talk. He would sit in his chair and tell many stories of things that happened years ago or just yesterday. He loved to watch and talk about the news. When he came to the diner table he would recap all the news stories of the night after watching Brian Williams, even though we were all sitting there watching it with him. Larry was independent despite being blind for a very long time. He needed help some times but mostly he was a “help myself” kind of guy. Larry was very loving, caring and always ready to help others. He touched the lives of those close to him and will be so missed by all. He will always hold a special place in our hearts forever. He was a loving husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, brother, uncle and a friend to many. Larry had a zest for life, grabbed the bull by the horns and loved his family deeply. A graveside memorial for family and friends will be held on Friday, July 10th, 2009 at 11:00 am at the Greenwood Memorial Park, 350 Monroe Ave. NE, Renton WA 98056. We will be gathering afterward at a nearby restaurant. Please don’t hesitate to phone Pam if you have any questions for directions or otherwise, telephone 253-514-8880, or cell 253-861-3322. Thank you to all our friends, Franciscan Hospice, Manor care, and everyone who listened, and help support us in this heart wrenching time. We appreciate you all more than you know.