George Francis Leonard
Birth: 3 May 1906, California
Death: 21 Jul 1972, Santa Rosa, Sonoma, California
Spouse: Kathleen
Birth: unknown
Marriage: unknown
Divorced: 17 Jun 1939, Reno, Nevada
Spouse: Maud Parsell
Birth: 7 Jul 1890, Stockton, Durham, England
Death: 23 Jan 1986, Santa Rosa, California
Marriage: 1955, San Francisco, California
George Francis Leonard was born on May 3, 1906, just two weeks after the Earthquake and Fire. Kate said she saw many women giving birth all over Golden Gate Park at the time but that George was born in a cellar. The family may have been staying at his Aunt Mary Coogan’s house on Jersey Street when he was born. George grew up in St. Joseph’s Parish on the border between South of Market and the Mission Districts. What grammar school he attended is unknown.
By the time George was high school age, the family was living in the house on Dolores Street. He apparently did not go to high school as his brother had, so he did not have the football scholarship option. Instead, he became a carpenter and worked for his father’s construction company until the company was sold or closed around 1930.
His niece Linda remembered George as broad shouldered and husky, though not quite as tall as his brother, and very energetic. He had black hair and brown eyes. As he got older and his hair grayed, his brother said he colored it with oil. He was very much the workman-like character. He was always the one who got up early to light the stove and get the boiler going in the morning so that the house was warm when everyone else got up.
George was out of work for a couple of years in the early 1930s and living with his parents on Dolores Street. During this time, he seems to have had a secret marriage to a woman named Kathleen, possibly the beautiful woman living in the downstairs flat. In June 1939, they went to Reno and got a divorce.
George continued to live at the Dolores Street house. He worked in construction as a carpenter on buildings and took care of his aging parents. In 1942, his father passed away. With the War on, he landed a job as a ships’ carpenter for Bethlehem Steel in the San Francisco Naval Yard. His cousin Hazel Coogan was married to a ships’ caulker named Bill Bradford and Bill may have helped get George the job. This job allowed him to travel some. He flew to Honolulu, Hawaii, in May of 1947 and stayed until January of 1948. It was trip that his brother had made back in 1927 by ship, but George went on Pan American Airways rather than by boat as Jack had. It was a step up.
In 1952, his mother Kate passed away. George did not want to sell the house and wanted to continue living there. It caused something of a rift with his brother. In 1955, George met and married Maud Parsell. Maud was born on July 7, 1890, in Durham, England, to Robert Henry Parsell and Margaret Ann Picken. Maud had been married before to a George Robinson. She had lived in Ontario and Massachusetts and had four grown children. Interestingly, one son was named George Leonard Robinson. It is unknown how, but her first husband died in 1942 in Massachusetts. According to her naturalization records, she was 5’ 7”, blonde-haired, blue-eyed and had a fair complexion.
George’s new wife moved into the Dolores Street house. They lived there for the next five years. In 1960, they bought a house at 1582 Wright Street in Santa Rosa. They would live there for the rest of their lives.
George’s niece Lynda remembered that George and John got along well, but had had a falling out, most likely over the inheritance of the Dolores Street house. She remembered George coming to Long Beach later to reconcile with Jack. They went to the beach and he wore a heavy, black wool coat. Ocean Beach in San Francisco is one of the coldest parts of the City and easily 10 degrees colder than Noe Valley where he lived. Like all San Franciscans, he knew you always wear layers because they can be taken off if you need to, but they often need to be on. Not so true in Long Beach, so young Lynda remembered it as odd.
On July 21, 1972, George died in a Santa Rosa hospital of heart failure, exacerbated by years of high blood pressure. He was 66 years old. He is buried in Santa Rosa Memorial Park. Maud lived another 14 years and died on January 23, 1986. She is buried alongside her second George.
Death: 21 Jul 1972, Santa Rosa, Sonoma, California
Spouse: Kathleen
Birth: unknown
Marriage: unknown
Divorced: 17 Jun 1939, Reno, Nevada
Spouse: Maud Parsell
Birth: 7 Jul 1890, Stockton, Durham, England
Death: 23 Jan 1986, Santa Rosa, California
Marriage: 1955, San Francisco, California
George Francis Leonard was born on May 3, 1906, just two weeks after the Earthquake and Fire. Kate said she saw many women giving birth all over Golden Gate Park at the time but that George was born in a cellar. The family may have been staying at his Aunt Mary Coogan’s house on Jersey Street when he was born. George grew up in St. Joseph’s Parish on the border between South of Market and the Mission Districts. What grammar school he attended is unknown.
By the time George was high school age, the family was living in the house on Dolores Street. He apparently did not go to high school as his brother had, so he did not have the football scholarship option. Instead, he became a carpenter and worked for his father’s construction company until the company was sold or closed around 1930.
His niece Linda remembered George as broad shouldered and husky, though not quite as tall as his brother, and very energetic. He had black hair and brown eyes. As he got older and his hair grayed, his brother said he colored it with oil. He was very much the workman-like character. He was always the one who got up early to light the stove and get the boiler going in the morning so that the house was warm when everyone else got up.
George was out of work for a couple of years in the early 1930s and living with his parents on Dolores Street. During this time, he seems to have had a secret marriage to a woman named Kathleen, possibly the beautiful woman living in the downstairs flat. In June 1939, they went to Reno and got a divorce.
George continued to live at the Dolores Street house. He worked in construction as a carpenter on buildings and took care of his aging parents. In 1942, his father passed away. With the War on, he landed a job as a ships’ carpenter for Bethlehem Steel in the San Francisco Naval Yard. His cousin Hazel Coogan was married to a ships’ caulker named Bill Bradford and Bill may have helped get George the job. This job allowed him to travel some. He flew to Honolulu, Hawaii, in May of 1947 and stayed until January of 1948. It was trip that his brother had made back in 1927 by ship, but George went on Pan American Airways rather than by boat as Jack had. It was a step up.
In 1952, his mother Kate passed away. George did not want to sell the house and wanted to continue living there. It caused something of a rift with his brother. In 1955, George met and married Maud Parsell. Maud was born on July 7, 1890, in Durham, England, to Robert Henry Parsell and Margaret Ann Picken. Maud had been married before to a George Robinson. She had lived in Ontario and Massachusetts and had four grown children. Interestingly, one son was named George Leonard Robinson. It is unknown how, but her first husband died in 1942 in Massachusetts. According to her naturalization records, she was 5’ 7”, blonde-haired, blue-eyed and had a fair complexion.
George’s new wife moved into the Dolores Street house. They lived there for the next five years. In 1960, they bought a house at 1582 Wright Street in Santa Rosa. They would live there for the rest of their lives.
George’s niece Lynda remembered that George and John got along well, but had had a falling out, most likely over the inheritance of the Dolores Street house. She remembered George coming to Long Beach later to reconcile with Jack. They went to the beach and he wore a heavy, black wool coat. Ocean Beach in San Francisco is one of the coldest parts of the City and easily 10 degrees colder than Noe Valley where he lived. Like all San Franciscans, he knew you always wear layers because they can be taken off if you need to, but they often need to be on. Not so true in Long Beach, so young Lynda remembered it as odd.
On July 21, 1972, George died in a Santa Rosa hospital of heart failure, exacerbated by years of high blood pressure. He was 66 years old. He is buried in Santa Rosa Memorial Park. Maud lived another 14 years and died on January 23, 1986. She is buried alongside her second George.
It must have been difficult being John’s younger brother, with sibling rivalry being what it is. John was a college graduate and star football player when George did not even attend high school. He was a hardworking second son who stayed at home and took care of his mother much of his life. Hopefully, he found peace later in life.