Leah Therese Erard

Leah Therese Erard, 63, passed away on Monday, June 9. Born on June 2, 1962, in Schenectady, New York, to Elizabeth Cumberland and Charles Orsak, Leah moved with her father, mother, and younger brother, Geoffrey, to Corpus Christi, Texas, at the age of 3.

A precocious child with a steel-trap memory and a love of reading, Leah excelled academically. Her preternatural gift for communication and sunny demeanor made Leah a popular figure among her classmates at each new school she attended. In her junior year at J.W. Nixon High School in Laredo, Leah was elected student class president. Her two younger brothers, Geoffrey and Paul, adored their older sister, who instilled in them a commitment to education as a stepping stone to a life of meaning.

A History Honors student at the University of Texas at Austin, Leah distinguished herself as an officer on the Liberal Arts Council; a member of the national honor society, Mortar Board; and a member of the Orange Jackets, one of the oldest honorary service and spirit organizations at the University of Texas. Graduating summa cum laude in 1984 and becoming a member of the oldest and most prestigious academic honor society, Phi Beta Kappa, Leah was honored as one of the top ten graduates of the College of Liberal Arts. Leah embarked on graduate studies in Early Modern European History at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Although a battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma disrupted her studies at UNC, Leah persevered and received a Master of Arts degree in 1986. She ultimately decided to pivot and channeled her keen intellect and passion for history and politics into a career in public service.

Leah’s forty-year-long career in public service, in the Texas State Legislature and at the Employees Retirement System of Texas, attests to her personal and professional commitment to the well-being of others. As a legislative assistant for Representative Terral Smith and later the Legislative Director for Bill Ratliff, who served as both a Texas State Senator and Lieutenant Governor, Leah tirelessly advocated for Texas’s most vulnerable residents. In the early 2000s, as the Texas legislature descended into partisanship, Leah courageously championed fair-mindedness and bipartisan collaboration to secure legislative victories, including overhauling the state’s education system financing and tort reform to protect patients’ rights in medical malpractice cases. After Ratliff resigned from the Texas Senate in protest, Leah participated in successfully nominating the former Lieutenant Governor, a Texas Republican, for the 2005 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. In 2004, Leah joined the Executive Office staff at the Employees Retirement System of Texas, where, for two decades, she tenaciously advocated for members in her roles on the Government Relations and Special Projects team and the Grievance Review Committee. Her coworkers remember her as a gregarious and ebullient friend who sincerely loved to celebrate others.

Leah met David Erard in 1987, and they were married in October 1993. Even after their divorce in 2008, David was a steadfast support, standing by her through the worst of her health complications. David and Leah shared a deep and nuanced connection. Theirs was a profoundly human story of nearly four decades that ended as it began: with love, friendship, and enduring care. Together, they lovingly coparented their two children, John David and William. Leah adored her sons and loved seeing their brave and adventurous lives unfold, often bragging about them both without reserve. Despite her various health complications, Leah attended Will’s graduation from the University of Texas at Austin in early May, as she had attended John’s graduation from UT Austin in the spring of 2023.

Leah cherished her lifelong friendships with Patricia Shipton and Marta Lopez, who not only accompanied her on girls’ trips to San Antonio but also traveled with her to cardiology appointments in Houston and remained by her side throughout her hospital visits.

Preceded in death by her father, Charles Orsak, and her four grandparents, Leah is survived by her two sons, John David and William Erard; the father of her sons, David Erard; her mother, Elizabeth Cumberland; her two brothers, Geoffrey and Paul Orsak; and her nieces and nephews, Emily Watts and Sarah, Mary, and Peter Orsak.

The funeral will be held on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, at 11:00 am at Hyde Park Baptist Church with a reception to follow at the UT Alumni Center. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Wildflower Center, Public Broadcast Service, or Austin Pets Alive.