LeRoy Edward Hood

He served as a combat crew member in the Army Air Force on B-29 bombers during WWII. He flew combat missions as a mechanic gunner against the Japanese while based on the Island of Tinian in the Western Pacific. After the war he returned home soon married Kathryn Hallenbeck, his wife of 63 years. They moved to Cocoa, Florida and he went to work for Pan American Airways at Cape Canaveral Missile test center as a missile launch complex supervisor. After leaving Florida he moved to Cary, NC where he worked as chief of maintenance and operations at the National Institute of Environmental health Services in RTP.

He is survived by his daughter, Susan Barr and her fiancé, Terry Austin of Atlanta, Sanford Hood, his daughter-in-law Michelle and his granddaughter Savannah. He also has a grandson, Richard Larkin, Richard’s wife Amber and their daughter Charlotte.

A memorial service will be held at Resurrection Lutheran Church at 10:00 am Thursday June 23, 2011. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Meals on Wheels or the debt reduction fund of Resurrection Lutheran Church.