Robert Guy Leach, Jr.

Robert (Bob) Guy Leach, Jr., age, 91 of Cedar Park, Texas, formerly of Victoria and Beeville, passed away on July 15, 2024. He was born on March 24, 1933 in Denison, Texas to the late Mamie Elizabeth (Carpenter) Leach (Comstock) and R. G. Leach, Sr. He was a member of Holy Family Catholic Church in Victoria and St. Albert the Great in Austin.

He married Frances Marie Bloomer of Sherman on January 9, 1954 while on leave from the US Army and their marriage lasted for exactly 61 years at the time of Frances’ death on January 9, 2015.

He was a 4th degree Knight of Columbus, Assembly 1126, a former Grand Knight of KC Council 9088 of Holy Family Catholic Church, a District Deputy of the Texas State Council, District 153 and a former member of the Victoria Serra Club.

He had a long career in education in Texas as a teacher, coach and principal serving in the Dallas ISD, Kingsville ISD, Irving ISD and Nordheim ISD.

He served as Athletic Director and as a baseball and basketball coach while teaching in Beeville for fifteen years at Bee County College, now Coastal Bend College. He coached volleyball at Our Lady of Victory in 2010 and concluded his career at The Victoria College teaching Physical Education activities and classes. He served his last few years as the Department Chair, Kinesiology, retiring in 2000.

During his early 20’s he played 5 ½ seasons of professional baseball. He attended the University of Texas at Austin and graduated in 1960 with a B.S. in Physical Education. While enrolled at Texas, he served as a student assistant baseball coach for two years under head coach Bibb Falk. He later obtained a M.Ed. Physical Education from The University of North Texas in 1964.

He currently holds the Texas High School baseball tournament record of 21 strikes outs in 10 innings, while throwing a no-hitter in a 1-0 victory over Marshall, an accomplishment he achieved in 1949 as a Freshman at Denison High School. He was also named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

In April of 2024, he was honored with the establishment of the “Coach Bob Leach Endowed Baseball Scholarship” at Coastal Bend College.

He is a member of the Denison High School Sports Hall of Fame and the Beeville Sports Hall of Fame. He served in the U.S. Army, 5th RCT and 27th Infantry Wolfhounds of the 25th Infantry Division as a member of Occupation Forces in Korea.

He and his family lived in Beeville, Texas and attended St. Joseph’s Catholic Church where he served as the parish council president, was a lector and often assisted the parish priest on the altar.

In recent years he enjoyed serving as a volunteer coach for the St. Joseph High School Lady Flyers softball team of Victoria where he helped them wins a TAPPS State championship in 2011. After moving to the Austin area in 2015, he saw a need for homeschooled girls to participate in softball and started the Austin Royals Girls Softball program in 2017. He also served one year as the Head Coach of the Hill Country Christian School Girls softball team, which was their inaugural year.

He had no “real” hobbies, but enjoyed movies, golf, fishing and watching The University of Texas football team. Watching his grandchildren in their activities was also a special delight, as well as living long enough to see many great grandchildren being born. He also loved to travel with his wife, Frances, to multiple locations in the United States, as well as some international destinations.

He is preceded in death by his wife of 61 years, Frances Marie (Bloomer) Leach, parents Robert Guy, Sr. and Mamie Elizabeth (Carpenter) Leach (Comstock) and his sister, Margaret Louise of Denison, Texas.

He is survived by his four sons and their families, Michael and Lauren Leach of Round Rock, Texas, Larry and Shirley Leach of Tomball, Texas, Gary Leach of Austin, Texas and Steve and Kelley Leach of Rockwall, Texas. He also leaves behind 9 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

A vigil and rosary will be held on Friday, July 26th, at 6:00 p.m. at Cook-Walden/Capital Parks Funeral Home in Pflugerville, Texas. The funeral mass will be held at St. Albert the Great Catholic Church in Austin on Saturday, July 27th at 10:00 a.m. He will be laid to rest next to his wife and in-laws at St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery in Sherman, Texas on Sunday, July 28th at 10:45 a.m.

Pallbearers will be Brendon Leach, Ben Leach, Garrett Leach, Dylan Leach, Luke Leach, Luke Nonmacher, Jim Davidson and Coleman Davidson, all his grandchildren, a great grandchild and sons in-law.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests a donation to the “Coach Bob Leach Endowed Baseball Scholarship” (be sure to select “Use donation for BASEBALL”) using the following link.

https://www.thecbcfoundation.org/product/coach-bob-leach-endowed-baseball-scholarship/195?cs=true&cst=customwe&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR1oPwAAn4db6J1ktRpxo6By_9QfkQG3G98m8mvP-AVOxBJVjJCqs4zpnCs_aem_HMw575rFEZ3ojcXLBj_Ilg

The Funeral Mass will be livestreamed by St. Albert the Great at the following link:

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.saintalbert.org/livestream__;!!M2D_dUfSiN4E!MclrIQhrEWut48bbB1q_ITnkLLdZDkfP2fCjN--qYYQyjrBLjtomJ9BvHzqMiVBxbaIb0CSF6eeW5KEQU7Eh8pm11g$