Alan Bill Leach

Bill was predeceased by his parents Wilfred & Lillian and brothers Ronald & Fred. He is survived by his loving wife Deirdre of 59 years and his son’s: Doug & Debbie and their family Troy & Candace (Kellan), Tyler & Julie of Regina. Tom & Maureen and their family Melissa & Colby and Clint (Kyan) of BC. Jim and his family Twyla & Nik (Braeden, Alex, Zoe), Sarah & Trevor (Ethan) and their mother Karen of Regina. His daughter Lisa & Bob Craigie and their family J.R., Amanda of Indian Head. He is also survived by his sisters Connie & Don Willerth, Jean Johnstone, June Wilson and many nephews and nieces.

Bill’s many years in Indian Head consisted of farming and spending time at the rink and ball diamonds playing, watching or officiating. He was a member of the Legion, Elks and Odd Fellows.

The funeral service will be held at St. Andrews United Church Christian Education Centre in Indian Head, SK on Saturday, December 10, 2011 at 2:00 pm with Reverend Suzanne Edgar officiating. Cremation with interment at the Indian Head Cemetery.

Memorial donations may be made to the AJM Davies Arena Lift Fund c/o Town of Indian Head, Box 460, Indian Head, SK, S0G 2K0 or a charity of one’s choice. Arrangements in care of Tubman Funeral Home, Indian Head, SK.

A Tribute To Uncle Bill Leach – by Graham Smith

First, on behalf of the family I would like to thank all of you for coming. I know it means a lot to them and it’s certainly nice to see all your familiar faces.

When Lisa phoned and asked if I would do the eulogy for Uncle Bill, I was a little shocked and reluctant because I thought what can I possibly say about a man who never really said too much, usually was quiet and did his thing without notice, always stayed away from the spotlight, had that crazy, infectious laugh and most importantly would do anything for anybody at anytime. I also thought that it’s not what a man says or does that deserves honouring but what they meant to you by being a part of your life. I also thought that here was a man who spent his entire life in this wonderful town and was a terrific historian of Indian Head, who could tell you anything you ever wanted to know about anything or anybody when it came to telling stories of home. It seems, whenever I would go over to Uncle Bill and Aunt Dede’s I always would leave knowing a little bit more about the community and the people who made up this town. There was also a time that I would learn a lot about my own family and that I will get into later. Because of all these things Lisa, I want to thank you for asking me.

As a kid growing up in town, I always felt fortunate because I had the Leach’s and I also had Grandma Smith living here so I do feel blessed having had them around. Outside of great friends there was always family that I could turn to as well. I remember spending a lot of time out at the farm because Doug, Tom, Jim and I were really close in age so there was a lot of playing. I do remember that I was quite a bit intimidated by Uncle Bill, as I said before he never really said very much but he sure could give you a look that scared the living hell out of me.

Playing with the boys would generally lead to some sort of fight between them and if you ever saw the Leach boys fight, it was a sight to behold as it was anything but a sibling rivalry. “IT WAS WAR.” It’s no wonder Uncle Bill would eventually become a referee in the Q.V.H.L. because he certainly got enough practice at home. If he could stop them boys from killing each other, he would have no trouble stopping some hockey player from brawling. Anything that was within arms length would generally go flying through the air and I mean anything and it certainly didn’t matter where it landed even if it was on someone’s head. So needless to say he had plenty of opportunity to practice the GLARE. There are so many fond memories of the farm and the things that Uncle Bill would do like clean off the dugout so we could go skating, getting up in the middle of the night because Aunt Dede would be screaming that there was a badger in the chicken coop, as well as the annual chicken slaughter with the big tub of boiling water and fire. It was like they were running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Riding around in the 1948 Chev when Doug got his license, playing pool down in the basement of the house and of course when every relative we had was in attendance for Lisa and Bob’s wedding. Uncle Bill would never say much but he always got a lot accomplished. Always just go with the flow.

Throughout the years, I came to realize that Uncle Bill was quite an athlete as he played for the Chiefs, would later be on the executive of the Chiefs, would become a referee against the Chiefs and later on in life became a player again, this time with the Indian Head Saints and all the good times that they would have traveling all over the country. In fact it was Uncle Bill who made #99 famous, not that other kid they talk about. They say that Gordie Howe played hockey long enough to play with his sons. I think Uncle Bill wanted to play with his grandsons. He was induced into the sports hall of fame in 1996 for the Chiefs teams of 1956/57 & 1957/58. He saw four generations of his family play hockey for the Indian Head Chiefs. He played baseball and curled and I really can’t recall ever going over to the house and not finding Uncle Bill and Aunt Dede watching a hockey game (especially the Leafs who, besides Aunt Dede was the other love of his life) a baseball game or of course our beloved Roughriders. The t.v. was always turned on to sports and it certainly rubbed off on the kids and grandkids. As I had mentioned before there wasn’t anybody who could tell you a story about the past better than Bill and he even knew stories about my family that I thought I knew… and some that got just a little bit twisted. Case in point, some of you might know that in 1966 Uncle Bill went to the Grey Cup in Vancouver to watch the Riders and the Riders and they took the train that just happened to board here in town, but it wasn’t the fact that he had gone to the Cup that makes this story interesting but who he had gone to the cup with. He had gone with none other than my dad and a couple of others. I remember asking dad years later about that historic adventure that he and Uncle Bill had gone on and dad would always say that throughout this marathon he had lost sight of Uncle Bill quite a bit. So I am over at Bill and Dede’s one day not that long ago quizzing Uncle Bill about the trip and joking with him that he must have had a good time because dad was always losing him at the different functions. Uncle Bill, with his typical humour looked at me and said that it didn’t surprise him that dad had lost sight of him because as soon as dad got on the train and the trip began dad had lost sight of a lot of things, not just Uncle Bill In fact he had lost sight of everything between Indian Head and Vancouver. Remembering how dad was when he got home from Vancouver, I think I believe Uncle Bill. I was 11 years old but it seems like yesterday. See what I mean how stories can get just a little twisted and dad was really good at it. Dad had always said that Uncle Bill was not only his brother-in-law but he was also a great friend and one of the best trips he had ever been on was that Grey Cup.

I will always remember that I use to really enjoy going over to Uncle Bill and Aunt Dede’s because they took such great pride in their home and yard. You could always find them puttering around in the garden, garage or cutting grass. You could tell that Uncle Bill was a farmer because whether it was in town or out on the farm he loved being out on the land. He always was forever optimistic, as every year I would ask how the crop is and he would always tell me that it’s looking better than last year. He was always happy, especially when he was farming. As the kids have quoted – dad and mom’s house was always open to many parties for the kids and their friends. Bill liked to take money off the kids friends in a NICE friendly game of poker and mom would make sure that she took car keys so nobody would drive and everyone still came back weekend after weekend for more. There was always plenty to eat and you had to make sure that you called when you got home so they knew you had arrived safe. Dad tried his hardest to teach his three sons about farming. First, there was Doug. He was the oldest and he learned to repair motors, drive tractors, combines, he did it all. Then there was Tom. If anything, Tom taught dad how to get out of doing any work on the farm, unless it meant driving the grain truck and shoveling grain. Then there was Jim. He could build a mean tree house but when it came to the farm he was exempt because of allergies to grain. Then there was Lisa. After the boys were gone, she had to be the gopher for tools, helped build bins and lean-to’s. After having three boys who would have thought that Lisa would be the one to carry on the century old family farm. How he loved you all. Uncle Bill was responsible for naming the 2 four-wheel drive anteater tractors. He called one Momma because she had short fat tires and was lower to the ground, which is the one he always drove and Poppa had the narrower tires. After retiring from farming he still maintained his supervisor role by driving around the block to make sure Bob hadn’t screwed up anything.

As he became older the grandkids started having their own families of which two years ago Kellan was born so Uncle Bill proud knew there was going to be someone to carry on the Leach family name. But there was also the other side of Uncle Bill that was very noticeable. There was still that GLARE but now it was the look of enjoyment and pride. I have never seen a grandfather who played with his grandchildren and enjoyed it as much as Bill. We would have family functions like the memorable mortgage burning party that Bill and Dede had when their house was paid off. All the adults would be sitting around doing what adults do and Uncle Bill would be outside playing with the grandkids. You kids were the apple of his eye and don’t ever forget that.

There was also the sociable side of Uncle Bill. No matter when I would go over, the first thing he asked me would be beer or scotch. It didn’t matter what time of day you went over. That’s probably why I went over so much because there was always going to be a beverage. We would just sit and talk and then something would be said and he would break out in that laugh. What a great laugh. I loved going over there to see them. We would sit around the kitchen table and he would get me caught up on how Doug, Tom, Jim, Lisa and families were doing and when they were down or coming down or golfing and if I ever need that cart to use it. Then I would proceed and tell them how we're doing because he always asked. It was those times that made me realize that yes, maybe Uncle Bill did not say a lot but whatever he did say showed that he cared about his family and ours because that is what families do. It makes me remember when mom and my brother Gord and his family were coming to Brandon one weekend about 10 or 11 years ago and Gord had a breakdown in Regina and who went in to Regina and picked them up and brought them back to Indian Head so they could carry on their trip to Brandon…Uncle Bill. He just went about his business in a quiet and normal manner, never expecting anything for his trouble.

Uncle Bill was born March 27, 1927 and died December 6, 2011. He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Deirdre; three sons: Doug and his wife Debbie, Tom and his wife Maureen, Jim and his wife Karen and daughter Lisa and her husband Bob; eight grandchildren: Troy, Tyler, Clint, Melissa, Twyla, Sarah, J.R and Amanda and six great grandchildren: Kellan, Braeden, Zoe, Alex, Ethan and Kyan.

Uncle Bill lived 84 years in Indian Head, I am so lucky to have shared 56 of those years with him in my life. People will say he has gone to a much better place and I believe that. I also believe he left Indian Head a much better place just by being a member of the community for all these years and hopefully he has left all of us better people just by knowing him. And now Uncle Bill, I think I will have both ….a beer ….and a scotch. God bless you and say hi to dad.