Black History Month 2022 - In Loving Memory
This day in Black History belongs to my father, LeRoy Leo. Today, February 5, he would have been 90 or is it 95? Inside joke, more on that later. He was born in South Carolina, the 11th child of Blanche and Andrew. He came to Wash. D. C. at an early age and attended District of Columbia Public Schools.
In 1948 he wed Macie and they began their family: 3 children, LeRoy Jr., Brenda and me who they often called Leen or DVT. Back to his age. My father increased his age in order to date my mother. According to her, she would never have dated him knowing he was younger than her.
Dad worked in upholstery and later as police officer for DC’s Metropolitan Police Dept., Special Police for George Washington U, security for various high-end jewelry stores and lastly an automobile trimmer. He made a new convertible top and upholstered the seats for my very first car, a 1963 Plymouth Valiant. Dad secretly trained and was later licensed to work as a Private Investigator. Mom said he knew she would have objected had she known. That’s where I got my investigative talent. If I want to know something about someone, I can usually find it.
Sidebar: Today I hunted down Dad’s cousin’s first and last name. All I knew was “Sweets” and he lived in a corner home on a street near a street. I surfed for the street name, address, and then past residents. Kept hunting until I found the info. Yezzzzz!!!
My father was soft spoken, very kind and oh so humorous. He was the person everybody loved but he didn’t take crap off anybody(except us lol). I recall he resigned from law enforcement after not being allowed off to attend my graduation(his baby gyrl? Bye Felicia!!!). I assume it was tough being black in law enforcement in the 70s. I heard they let “other” people off upon request(i.e. non-blacks). Hey, it’s Black History month right? I give the sour with the sweet. Dad often worked two jobs to make ends meet and give us the awesome life we enjoyed. He even worked weekends at a car wash and delivered periodicals to stores.
Dad was very lovable to his family and we loved him dearly. He was always jolly. Besides us, siblings(his and Mom’s), cousins, nieces and nephews often came for counseling. Being a former cop, people would call him when being bullied. Ha!!! He always listened and provided sound advice. But if you were wrong, he’d let you know in his special non-convicting way. “Yeah, but you know you were wrong right?”, he’d say. lol
He enjoyed life, often putting together outings for anyone who wanted to go, family and neighbor children. If he had money, they had money. I heard his funeral was standing room only. I missed it. I was having my youngest, Damon LeRoy. Middle name after Dad because he was our bright light during a sad time. That ray of sunshine after a storm.
My father enjoyed cruising on his boat, fishing, relaxing at a beach/park, amusement parks, photography, playing cards, board games, cooking, grilling, and dining out. He also enjoyed collecting rare coins, old cameras, jewelry, trinkets and whatnot, many of which he gave me. I enjoy much of the same(and then some). He definitely lived life to the fullest.
I truly love and miss my father. Gone too soon at 46(heart attack). He was my father, best friend and confidant. Some truth from his obituary:
HIS LOVING SMILE, HIS FACE AGLOW, WILL BOTH BE MISSED, WE SURELY KNOW!
R.I.Paradise Pa. God truly blessed us. We were proud of you and am sure you are proud of us too. 💖
