Dr. David Wilton Leapard died January 20, 2021, in Wilmington, North Carolina due to complications related to the COVID19 Virus. He was born on September 18, 1946, to Wilton Albert Leapard and Edna Elizabeth Neal Leapard of Greenville, South Carolina. He grew up in Columbia, South Carolina and was a 1964 graduate of Saint Andrews Parish High School in Charleston, South Carolina. Following graduation, he served as an Officer in the United States Navy prior to being honorably discharged in 1971.
David was a 1973 graduate of Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia, where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Economics. Later that year, he was united in marriage to Barbara Bennett of Statesboro, Georgia. David and Barbara were married for 39 years until her death in 2013. David earned his Masters Degree in Secondary Education and his Ph.D. in Marketing Education from the University of South Carolina. He served for ten years as a High School Teacher of Marketing Education, as well as Assistant Director of the Career Education Center in Beaufort, South Carolina.
In 1992, Dr. Leapard accepted the position of Marketing Specialist at Eastern Michigan University in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dr. Leapard served on the Faculty at Eastern Michigan University, until his retirement in 2017 as Professor Emeritus. During his tenure at Eastern Michigan, Dr. Leapard served twice as a Visiting Scholar to the Japan Center for Michigan Universities in Hikone, Japan, and developed a course entitled ‘Doing Business in the USA,’ which was taught in both Japan and Mexico. Dr. Leapard was author or co-author of numerous professional publications and presentations in the field of Marketing and Economics Education.
While his vocation was that of classroom teacher and professor, Dr. Leapard’s avocation was music. David was an avid musician and he loved spending time singing and playing the guitar for his family and many friends. He was a lover of both country and classical music. David first sang on the radio when he was just five years old. He sang “It’s Sweet to be Remembered,” and “Hey Good Lookin” on WESC’s Bob Poole Show. In 2001, David began singing in a Toledo, Ohio, club called ‘The Distillery,’ where he acquired the nickname, ‘Distillery Dave.’ David’s other hobbies included golfing, traveling, Indy car racing and most of all, football.
Dr. Leapard was predeceased by his father, Wilton Albert Leapard, his mother, Edna Elizabeth Neal Leapard, and his wife, Barbara Bennett Leapard. He was also preceded in death by his father-in-law and mother-in-law, Lovett and Sara Neville Bennett, of Statesboro, Georgia. He is survived by his daughters, Sara Elizabeth Saunders of Oxford, Ohio and Emily Allison Baker and her husband, Matthew Joseph Baker of Carmel, Indiana; and his grandchildren, Charles David Saunders, Thomas Lovett Saunders and Lilah Victoria Badics of Oxford, Ohio, and Bennett Elizabeth Baker and Evan James Baker, of Carmel, Indiana. Survivors also include his brother, Michael Neal Leapard and his wife, Janet Haley Leapard of Pawley’s Island, South Carolina; brother-in-law, Lovett Bennett, Jr. and his wife, Missy Mallard Bennett; and sister-in-law, Sara Carolyn Bennett Broucek and her husband, William Samuel Broucek, all of Statesboro, Georgia. Additionally, Dr. Leapard is survived by nephews, Samuel Josiah Broucek and his wife, Michelle Shaw Broucek of Statesboro, Georgia; William Bennett Broucek of Sterling, Virginia; William Lovett Bennett and his wife, Megan, of Brooklyn, NY; and Michael Hampton Bennett of Atlanta, Georgia.
A private family Memorial Service will be held at Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel, Columbia, South Carolina, on Saturday, January 30, 2021 at 2:00pm EST. Burial will follow in Greenlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Columbia, South Carolina.
There will be a livestream of the service starting at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, January 30, 2021 on Dunbar Funeral Home – Devine’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/DunbarDevine/videos/3660375344070302
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the “One More Year” scholarship fund at Eastern Michigan University which was established in memory of his late wife, Dr. Barbara Bennett Leapard. Donations may be made to the Scholarship Fund via EMU’s donation web page at https://www.emich.edu/foundation/give/ or by mailing a check with “Barbara Leapard Scholarship”on the memo line to: EMU Foundation, P.O. Box 972057, Ypsilanti, MI 48197.
Memories may be shared at www.dunbarfunerals.com
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18