William R. Leach (1954-1999)
William R. Leach*
, age 45, of 2-58 Hibernia Street, Stratford, Ontario, Canada was an extraordinary poet and
"a scholar of a single candle" died of heart failure on Thursday, November 18, 1999 at the Stratford General Hospital,
Stratford, Ontario, Canada. William was survived by his wife, the sculptor
Susan Murar. Also surviving are his mother
Marilyn, and a brother
Jack in Ontario, California. William was a beautiful human being in body and mind, spirit and soul. When he was
a very young child as a prodigy he started to compose music and wrote throughout his lifetime, 159 symphonies, six operas and 17 string quartets. He was a full time poet as well and waited until he was in his mid-forties before he sensed a maturity in his work, that he considered worthy of publication, the result is eight books, of these, three may be considered his masterpieces.
His genius for mathematics remained hidden until he worked as a janitor in his formative years [1]. William's life encompassed caring about the future of our world and of the universe. He made astounding scientific breakthroughs to be used in the future, for the benefit of mankind.
"Out of a heart a world will form" is from one of his poems. He was a gentle man and he was also fiery and fierce as befits a brilliant poetic mind. He counted as his friends and mentors, Poet Nobel Laureate
Czeslaw Milosz, sculptor
James Schuit, Stetson and
Robert Burns the Scottish Poet, a very distant cousin.
"What is, shouldn't be" was his encompassing humanity speaking when he felt with his heart the suffering of the world. When he was asked,
"What is courage?", his answer was;
"Courage is love". And yes, he did throughout his lifetime, speak with angels in every language spoken throughout the history of time. The very last poem he wrote is entitled,
"Man Comes and Tills the Field and Lies Beneath", this was his personal epitaph. Cremation has taken place and funeral services are private.
* born in Duluth, Minnesota
[1] -
Pomona College, Claremont, California
Posted in
"Beacon Herald', Stratford, Ontario, Canada
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