Lieutenant Colonel Leo Pleasants, USA, Retired, age 95, passed away Thursday, November 14, 2019 in San Antonio, Texas. Born on August 1, 1924, Leo was the third of four sons born to James and Edna Bell (Haliburton) Pleasants of Brownsburg, Virginia.
Leo had not yet graduated high school when he was drafted into the U.S. Army during World War II in 1943. He served in the Pacific Theater in the 1312th Engineer General Service Regiment. He was discharged in 1946 after the war ended. Leo returned to Virginia, completed his senior year of high school in one semester, and enrolled at Hampton Institute. Upon graduation in 1950, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Leo married his college sweetheart, Avice Hill, in 1951. He became part of the Army’s prolonged desegregation efforts when he and nine other lieutenants from his unit in Germany exchanged places with ten white lieutenants in Oxford, England.
Leo’s military career took him and his family both stateside and abroad. After an additional 20 years of active duty, Leo retired from the Army and settled in El Paso, Texas, embarking on a career in education that lasted from 1970 to 1994. The Ysleta Independent School District in El Paso benefited from Leo’s talents as a teacher and assistant principal at Bel Air High School, and principal at Bel Air Junior High School and Ranchland Hills Middle School. While Leo remained in El Paso after his retirement from education, he and Avice relocated to San Antonio in 2012.
Throughout his life, Leo was active in civic and social organizations, among them Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc., Lions Club International, NAACP, El Paso Black Chamber of Commerce, Hampton University Alumni Association, and El Paso Center for Children. He enjoyed attending UTEP football and basketball games as well as those of the local high school sports teams.
Leo is survived by his wife of 68 years, Avice; daughters Jeri (Don) Dean of Plano, TX; Marcia (David) Hearld of San Antonio, TX; and Laura Pleasants of Chicago, IL; son Leo Michael (Veronica) Pleasants of Dallas, TX; 14 grandchildren, 8 great-grandchildren, and a host of relatives, friends, and colleagues. He is preceded in death by his parents and his son, John Pleasants of Bradenton, FL.
The family will receive guests at Crossroads Baptist Church, 8300 Tezel on Wednesday November 27, 2019 at 10:15a.m with a Celebration of Life at 11:15a.m. Interment will follow in Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery at 1:30p.m. in Shelter 3. For online tributes please visit www.SunsetNWFuneralHome.com
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