Colonel John Leader of Keale House

john-leader-of-keale-house-01“Colonel John Leader is, above all things, modest, for he insists on saying, when asked about his life, ‘My hideous past?’ Why nothing exciting ever happened to me.” Passing over the fact that he has seen service with all the allies but one, has been an interpreter of Japanese, Chinese and German, Colonel Leader said, “I guess the thing I was most proud of was winning my ‘blues’ at college.” Blues are what Americans call letters meaning that Colonel Leader was a “letter man” at his school. He won letters in mostly everything. He was captain of the hockey, polo, soccer and lawn tennis teams.”

John Leader was born in Quetta, a high-altitude city in modern-day Pakistan, to Irish parents in 1877. He was born into a long line of military men; his father, Surgeon-Major John Leader, was a colonel who enjoyed a distinguished career in the British military service. He left India when a small boy, and journeyed to his family home in Ireland. The Leaders have an old moated hall at Keale in Cork, where the last fourteen John Leaders have lived. The old family name was Temple until the time of the Battle of Boynewater, when John Temple from Keale took such an important part in the conflict that King William renamed him Leader, and Leaders they have remained. Although born in India, Colonel Leader is thoroughly Irish, and has all the Irish humor of his ancestors. [read more …] “Colonel John Leader of Keale House”

Death Notice: Patricia Calhoun (née O’Sullivan), Florida & Millstreet

CALHOUN, Patricia (O’Sullivan), 87, died suddenly on April 2, 2009 in Clearwater. She was born May 19, 1921 in Millstreet County Cork, Ireland. In 1939 she moved to London, England where she was drafted as a telephone operator in the British Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. It was there that she met her husband, James who was serving in the United States 8th Air Force. They were married in Thetford, England on April 11, 1945. As a war bride, she emigrated to the United States aboard the Andrea Doria eventually settling in Ashland, WI. She became a United States citizen on May 4, 1951 and lived in many parts of Wisconsin including Fond du Lac, Eau Claire and Superior. She moved to Clearwater in 1981 and was a member of St. Brendan’s Women’s Guild and the Island Estates Civic Association. She is survived by her husband of 64 year and her four children. Brian (Jeanne) of Jacksonville, Sean of Concord, CA, Garry (Deborah) of New Brighton MN and Colleen (George Harig Jr.), Oakland, CA. She is also survived by her four grandchildren, David Calhoun, Daniel Calhoun, Paige Calhoun, Chloe Harig and one great-grand-child, Phoenix Calhoun. A gathering of friends will take place at Hubbell Funeral Home, Belleair Bluffs on Saturday, April 4, 2009 at 1 pm followed by internment at Sylvan Abbey Memorial Park. A future memorial service will be scheduled when the entire family can be together. Hubbell Funeral Home www.hubbellfuneralhome. [legacy]