Barney Harold Leach was born May 10, 1932, in Sebastopol, Mississippi to parents Thomas Grady Leach and Fannie Christian Leach. He was preceded in death by his parents and three brothers; James L. Leach of Sebastopol, MS William G. Leach of New Orleans, Louisiana, Marcus D. Leach of Jacksonville, Florida and sister Nelda English of Moore, Oklahoma. He is survived by his wife Evelyn King Leach of Conroe, Texas, daughter Sharon Leach Madden and husband Royce of High Point, North Carolina, daughter Carol Leach Kennedy and husband Greg of League City, Texas, son Ronald Leach of Conroe, Texas and son Donald Leach and wife Kelly of Denton, Texas. Eight grandchildren, sixteen great grandchildren and one sister, Mary Armstrong of Columbia, Mississippi.
Barney grew up in the cotton fields of Mississippi and Louisiana with dreams that one day he would rise up out of that cotton patch to something bigger and better. He graduated from Epps High School in Epps, Louisiana in 1952 as salutatorian of his class. He served two years in the Army before entering college. Barney is a disabled veteran having suffered severe hearing loss serving in heavy artillery. After his release from the Army, he enrolled in college at Louisiana Tech University and graduated with a bachelor-of-science degree in mathematics and a minor in physics in 1959.
Upon graduation from Louisiana Tech, Barney began his career in the space program as a computer programmer with the U.S. Naval Space Surveillance System in Dahlgren, Virginia. He transferred to NASA in Houston, Texas in February 1963 as a computer programmer. Barney was a three-times recipient of NASA’s Sustained Superior Performance Award and as a member of the Apollo 13 Mission Operation Team, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom Award (America’s highest civilian award) for his role in the Apollo 13 rescue.
Barney retired from NASA as a Tech manager for development computer software systems in Mission Control in January 1988 and moved to Fairfield, Texas. After retirement he was active in community service. He served as a weather volunteer with the National Weather Service, two TV stations, a radio station and three local newspapers. He also served 13 years in the Rotary Club. He delivered meals on wheels to senior citizens for twenty plus years up to his 90th birthday and was involved in numerous other volunteer activities. He moved to Conroe, Texas in August 2022.
In hobbies, Barney served as a free lance crossword puzzle constructor for puzzle magazines and was an artist. In other activities, he shot mid-court baskets for exercise in his seventies having made over 1,000 mid-court baskets in a seven-year period (226 in one month). On his 78th birthday, he shot mid-court baskets for one hour as a fund raiser for the American Cancer Society making 25 half-court baskets and raising $2,750. In lieu of flowers the family asks for donations to be made to Freestone Cancer Support Group, INC. PO Box 1522 Fairfield, TX 75840.
Visitation will be held at Cashner Funeral Home, 801 Teas Road, Conroe, TX 77303, on September 9, 2026, from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm, followed by the Funeral Service at the same location from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm. A Committal Service will follow at Garden Park Cemetery.
