Wayne Elden Leach

Wayne Elden Leach was born August 7, 1931 in Midlothian, Oklahoma, to parents Clarence Otless Leach and Mamie B. (Fortune) Leach. He went home to Heaven on October 30, 2023 at the age of 92 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Wayne came from a large family: he had four older brothers, Walton, Otless, Kenneth, and Curtis (all deceased); plus two brothers, John and Dalton (died in infancy); and younger sister, Opal. His older brothers entered the Second World War, and he was left behind with his sister. At the age of 17 he enlisted in the National Guard and was pulled into the Korean War with an unlikely band of men, the first battalion to enter the war, known as Task Force Smith. He often recounted the harrowing experience of playing dead in a rice paddy field for hours. He survived miraculously to marry his Japanese conflict bride, Fumie Okazaki Leach (deceased), a shy, stylish woman he met at a military dance function. Together they had five children: Billy Wayne Leach, Kenji Leach, Connie Jean Turner (William), Bruce Ray Leach (Lydia) and Gary Duane Leach (deceased).

Wayne and Fumie started their family in Japan before setting sail to America. They ended up buying a home in Del City, Oklahoma, where they raised their five children. Wayne worked for 30 years at Tinker Air Force Base as supervisor of the B-52 jet engines and received numerous awards for his leadership. A gifted builder and mechanic, there were few things Wayne could not do. Coupled with his military service, Wayne retired at the early age of 45 only to take on further work until age 65. After the death of his first wife, Wayne married Keiko (Judy) Leach. His love for Japanese culture blossomed during this time of his life: he traveled to Japan with Judy, built his own Japanese koi pond and garden, and loved working his yard. After Keiko’s death, Wayne married Freda Ward Leach, who he’d known since childhood.

Wayne is survived by his wife Freda; sister, Opal Oletha Alsup; three sons and one daughter; eight grandchildren; twelve great-grandchildren; stepson Bobby Holland and Roy Ward; and stepdaughters, Tommie Claudine Lemaster and Barbara Vinson.