JOHN LEEKLEY Obituary

LEEKLEY--John Robert. John Leekley, former Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Masco Corporation, owner of Cedar Farm Percherons in Gladwin, MI, and a passionate outdoorsman, died of cancer September 17, 2020, age 77, at his Michigan home. John grew up in Drexel Hill, PA, and graduated from St. Joseph's Preparatory School in Phil- adelphia and from Boston College in 1965 with a magna cum laude degree in Greek and Latin. After receiving an LL.B degree from Columbia Law School, where he served as an editor of the Columbia Law Journal, he worked on Wall Street at Davis Polk & Wardell, focusing on securities regulation and mergers and acquisitions. In 1978 John joined the legal team at Masco, a Fortune 200 Company, and remained there until retiring in 2008. He developed the reputation at Masco of being among the best acquisitions lawyers in the country. During his years at Masco his first wife, Karen Meyers Leekley, died after a long illness, and several years after retiring his second wife, Gerry Gildner Leekley, died of cancer. He delighted especially in his farm. Beginning with three horses, he developed Cedar Farm Percherons into a stable that produced numerous champions, including the North American Championship Six Horse Draft Hitch in 1998. No one who saw him at a show in boots and a cowboy hat would have recognized he was a dynamic corporate lawyer, but he put more than 100% into everything he did. John was an avid hunter and fisherman. Over the years the farm hosted friends and family for deer and bird hunting. He loved good wine, cognac, dogs, his many friends, long summer evenings in Michigan, and his family -- not necessarily in that order! In recent years he and his wife, Amanda Baker Leekley, have divided their time between Michigan and Marco Island and Naples, FL. He is survived by his wife, son John Thomas Leekley (Silvia) of Alpharetta, GA, two grandchildren, Amanda and Thomas, sister Dorothy Leekley Clarke (Joseph) of Yonkers, NY, nephews Brendan and Conor, and a number of English setters, all who will miss his terribly. Any donations to: Scholarships & Financial Aid, St. Joseph's Prep, 1733 West Girard Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19130.