By niece, Sandy Leisey Brown
It’s sad to think that all of Mrs. Leisey’s angels are now really angels. But at least now they are legitimate angels. A quick note about The Leisey Angels as I remember them: If you needed a snack to hold you over for a few hours, go to Uncle Al… he always seemed to have something sweet in his pocket that he was willing to share. If you needed a meal to hold you over for a few days, go to Uncle Meb… he’d put out a spread of food that would put to shame any Texas all-you- can-eat-buffet. If you needed a joke to liven up your spirits, go see Uncle Bob… who had a joke for every topic and level of “cleanliness.” And if you needed to have fun, go see Uncle Don… who always generously shared his resources with relatives.
Uncle Don graciously spoke at my father’s service way back in December 2005. My dad, Bob Leisey, was Uncle Don’s closest big brother in age, and dad spent his childhood and adolescence mentoring Don, his early married years providing for Don (meals, extra cash, a place to crash), and the rest of his life admiring Don’s many accomplishments. So on behalf of my dad’s family, I asked to speak at Uncle’s Don’s service. Because a medical condition prevents me from flying, cousin Ron Leisey has graciously agreed to speak my words.
Aunt Pat, Kristen and Kendra, I want to share some early memories of “Uncle Duck.” Yes, that’s what we called him before he became Dr. Leisey. While Uncle Don was fun, Uncle Duck took it to a higher level. There are probably still dozens of people who can share beloved Duck
Leisey stories. My brother and I loved it when Uncle Duck came to visit when we were little kids in south-east Pennsylvania. He had a cool sports car and in nice weather he’d slowly drive us around our neighborhood with us sitting on the back, waving to our friends like we were in a parade. When the roads were filled with snow and ice and no one but Uncle Duck and us were out there, he’d try his hardest to do 360 degree circles at each intersection… of course we were inside the car for this. He always provided thrills and a caution that we not say anything to our parents in case they didn’t understand the genuine fun of this activity.
Fun continued when we went to visit Uncle Duck, Aunt Pat and little cousin Kristen in Palos Verdes the summer of 1968. I had just gotten my driver’s license two month before and Uncle Duck had a lot more confidence in my driving and directional skills than my dad did, who placed some kind of an invisible tether on the family car that only stretched 6 miles… to the high school and back. Well, Uncle Duck immediately handed over the keys to a standard-transmission car, a VW Bug I think, and pointed to where the beach and shopping centers were. He sent us off each day with “have fun kids!” I had no idea how to drive a stick shift car, and still don’t, but luckily my 14 year-old brother at the time did… most of his buddies had older brothers who had stick shift cars and that’s where and how he learned to drive. So off we’d go every day to have some California fun. The routine was I’d somehow manage to coast down a sloping driveway to where my brother was waiting at the bottom and on the street. I’d get out and move to the passenger side and Ric would take the driver’s seat. (He was tall for his age and his athletic build made it easy for him to pass as 16 or 17.) And then we’d go have some all-day fun. I remember thinking, Little Kristen will have it made by the time she becomes a
teenager… she has a father who believed in “wings” instead of tethers! I also thought, how could her dad and my dad be so very different?
After returning from LA, I started my junior year of high school. And after the roll call was taken the very first day of Biology II class, the teacher, Mr. Henry Van De Water, says in a stern voice, “Sandra Leisey, I need to see you after class.” I was scared to death since I never got into any kind of trouble in school. The teacher asked me in the same stern voice, “Are you related to Duck Leisey?” I said “Yes, he’s my uncle!” with a smile… thinking, cool, he must know Uncle Duck. “Well your uncle was a hell-raiser and I don’t want that kind of behavior coming out of you. Do you understand?” That night, the first topic of conversation at the dinner table was, “How do Uncle Duck and Mr. Van De Water know each other?” My dad replied, “Hank Van de Water? He and Duck worked on the pipe line together in summers and they were, shall we say, mischief-makers. Why?”
I followed Uncle Duck’s footsteps and went to West Chester State College in Pennsylvania, as it was called backed then. His advice to me was “make a career in education and you will always have job security… just be sure those you are teaching are smaller than you.” My dad and I didn’t get the tall Leisey gene, so this meant my teaching career would be in elementary ed. The night before classes started, our freshmen dorm mother called a meeting to give us general information. At the end, she said “Sandra Leisey, you are to report to the Dean of Student’s Office first thing tomorrow morning. If you have an 8am class, skip it and go see the Dean.” I haven’t even been on campus for a week – what could I have possibly done? So, at 8am I am waiting outside the Dean’s Office. A nice looking black man introduced himself to me as Herbert Lee and says in a familiar stern voice, “Get in here!” He immediately asked, “Are you related to Duck Leisey?” Here we go again. “Yes, sir, he’s my uncle.” “Well your uncle went here, as you know, and was a real trouble-maker on and off campus. Your dad must have told you stories because he was always bailing Duck out of some kind of trouble. I do not want any trouble out of you! I’ll be keeping a very close eye on you!” That night I called my dad to find out the connection between Uncle Duck and Herbert Lee. Dad said, “I haven’t heard that name in years. Herb and your uncle were close buddies in college, roommates I think, and yes, Duck and Herb got into trouble from time to time. Nothing serious, tho. Why?” I made it a point right there at that moment to graduate from West Chester as soon as I could so as not to tempt fate. And I did graduate a semester early… with a degree in Psychology, hoping it might better help me understand the Leiseys.
So Aunt Pat, Kristen and Kendra, beware if anyone ever asks you if you are related to Duck Leisey. You’ll be hearing a legendary story from that person about Uncle Don’s early years. He was definitely the fun uncle, especially as Uncle Duck.
I’m sure all of us Leisey cousins have early Uncle Duck stories and some later Uncle Don stories to fondly remember. He wasn’t that much older than a lot of us, which made the relationship even more special. He will definitely be missed by all of us!