Robert W. Leget

Robert W. Leget, 87, passed away peacefully Tuesday morning, September 26, 2023, at Medina Cleveland Clinic Hospital. Robert (Bob) was born November 8, 1935, in the small town of Waterford in southeastern Ohio and grew up on the family farm. His parents were Willie N. (Bid) Leget and Maxine Willis Leget. In high school, Bob was on the basketball team and played trombone in the band. He graduated from Waterford HS in 1953. That fall he began attending Marietta College where he joined the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. His interest in science took shape while working in the lab of Globe Metallurgical Plant during the summers. Prior to his graduation, Bob was recruited to teach science and math at his high school alma mater, with a temporary cadet teaching certificate. He continued taking college courses while teaching and finally completed his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry in 1960. He taught at Waterford High School from 1958 - 1962. In the spring of 1962, Bob started dating Joellyn Price, who had grown up in nearby Beverly, Ohio. She was a student at the College of Wooster. That fall, Bob left his hometown and accepted a teaching position at Buckeye High School in Medina County. He and Joellyn were married August 25, 1963. They moved into an apartment at Kent State University while Joellyn attended KSU to earn her Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education. Following Joellyn's graduation, they moved to Medina in 1965. The mid-60's were a pivotal time in Bob's life. In 1964, he received a grant from the National Science Foundation to attend a summer science institute in chemistry at Montana State University. Back at home he continued his education by studying geology at Kent State. Buckeye High School intended to offer a course in earth science for the first time and needed Bob to teach it. In 1966 Bob received another NSF grant; this time to study geology at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City. The area was loaded with fascinating geological structures, interesting rocks and minerals, and unique fossils. Bob fell in love with the area and the subject. He returned to Buckeye with a new-found enthusiasm that he shared with his students for the rest of his career. Numerous students found his excitement for earth science infectious and many embarked on their own careers related to geology. The school even relayed that at one time their out-of-state attendance from Buckeye High School exceeded in number any other out-of-state students. Bob wanted to show his students the amazing geology he had seen out West. In June 1972, he created the Buckeye Field Studies program to take students out West for weeklong science and history excursions. This first field trip was to the Black Hills and the Badlands of South Dakota. It was such a success that it became an annual event, with successive trips to Estes Park, Colorado and Rocky Mountain National Park. In 1990, Bob partnered with Medina teacher and friend, Mike Knopick to develop a new field trip to the West for sixth graders. Collectively these two trips operated for twenty-five years and included hikes and passionate explanations of geological structures, plants, animals, and local history. Bob eventually retired from Buckeye High School in 1988 after thirty years of teaching, years of coaching boys JV basketball, and girls' Varsity basketball. Following retirement Bob and Joellyn loved road trips. They routinely visited their family in Colorado to watch their grandkids in their sporting events. For their 50th Wedding Anniversary, Bob and Joellyn enjoyed a Disney Cruise to the Mediterranean with family. Bob was fortunate to receive several recognitions throughout his career. In 1978, he was one of twelve science teachers in Ohio to receive the Acker Outstanding Science Teacher Award. In 1982, he was invited by NASA to attend the third launch of the space shuttle Columbia. And in 1984, Bob was selected by the National Science Teachers Association to participate in a two-week workshop in Houston, highlighting the many energy related industries in the area. But perhaps his most beloved recognition came more than twenty years after his retirement when his former student, Kevin Schindler, historian, and author at the Lowell Observatory, officially nominated and received acknowledgement that a recently discovered asteroid would be named after Bob. Bob was a member of the Waterford United Methodist Church, a 60+year member of the Masons of Ohio, Fraternal Order of Eagles, Ohio Retired Teachers Association, and a life-member of the Ohio Education and the National Science Teachers Association. Bob is survived by his wife, Joellyn. Together they celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in August. Bob is also survived by his son, Jeff and wife Dawn, who live in Broomfield, Colorado with Bob's three grandchildren, Skyler, Mia, and Griffin 'Finn'. Bob was preceded in death just last year by his only sibling, Wenonah Wright of Elyria, who was survived by Bob's nephew, Jim Wright of Elyria. An informal Celebration of Life and brief devotional will be held on Saturday, November 11, 2023 from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Fraternal Order of Eagles, 696 Lafayette Road, Medina, Ohio 44256. Guests, friends, and former students are welcome to come and share their stories and memories. In keeping with Bob's wishes, he will be cremated, and his ashes will be interred in the Waterford Cemetery, at the crest of a small hill overlooking the Leget 'century family farm' in the spring. Waite & Son Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements. Condolences may be left for the family at www.waitefuneralhome.com. Suggested donations in Bob's memory are to either: Medina County Park District, 6364 Deerview Lane, Medina, OH 44256 or Rocky Mountain Conservancy, 48 Alpine Circle, PO Box 3100, Estes Park, CO 80517.