William (Bill) James Leary

 

William (Bill) James Leary of Ithaca, NY, formerly of Port Orange, FL and Vestal, NY, passed away on September 11, 2019.  He is predeceased by his former wives Aline M. Parisot, mother of his six children, and Gale Lynch.  Being the youngest in his family, Bill has also had to say good bye to his parents Matthew and Violet Leary, as well as his siblings Marie, Helen, Sadie, Tish, Tom and Betty.  In addition, Bill recently lost his youngest daughter Mary Lou DeRitis and his great-grandson Kyle Davis.  He is survived by his remaining children Elizabeth Davis-Young, Theresa/Terry Martens (Cheri), Margaret Leary, Jim Leary (Robin), Paul Leary (Danielle) and son in law Bruce DeRitis.  Bill is also survived by eight grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews. 
Born in 1929 *A.D. (*Bill would have provided this bit of information). Bill was extremely proud of the family he raised and of his Irish heritage. His father Matthew O’Leary “came over on the boat, and on the way the ‘O’ got drowned in the ocean”.  He always had a mischievous twinkle in his eye, a silly joke, or wee bit of blarney to share. He was also very proud of his service in the Army and his long career at IBM, including a move to Texas where he spent a few years on his “Ranch”.  Bill never stopped trying to figure out how things worked and there wasn’t anything he couldn’t fix and make work again.  His 1948 Harley Davidson Panhead was one of his most prized possessions.  It has moved with him from Vestal to Florida and back.  He has torn that bike down to the frame and put it back together more times than he remembers.  
The family requests that any memorial contributions be made in Bill's name to one of the following: Longview · 1 Bella Vista Drive, Ithaca, NY 14850   http://www.longviewithaca.org/about/giving/ , or Hospicare of Ithaca · 172 E King Rd, Ithaca, NY 14850  https://www.hospicare.org/donate/ . He will be buried at Calvary Cemetery in a private ceremony.  
 

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