Henry Leader, a founding member of a law firm that in part shared his name, Stock and Leader, and a proponent of civil rights in York, died Saturday morning, Kuhner Associates funeral home and a family member said. He was 93.
Gov. Tom Wolf said, “Frances and I send our thoughts and prayers to Henry’s family. Henry was a close family friend and we are deeply saddened by his passing. We will forever be grateful to Henry for his service to his country and to the York community.”
Leader was a founding member of Stock and Leader, a law firm based in York County. In the early 1950s and ‘60s, Leader was the chairman of the Housing Authority in York and the redevelopment authority. He and his wife, Doris “Dorrie” Leader, who died in September 2012, were tireless advocates to civil rights in York County, and Pennsylvania.
Mr. Leader served in the United States Army, rising to Chief Warrant Officer and was Legislative Secretary to his brother George M. Leader, former Governor of Pennsylvania. Mr. Leader previously served as Chairman of the Housing Authority of York, and Chairman of the Redevelopment Authority of York.
The Leader family has deep roots in York County, and can count itself perhaps among the counties founding families. The first Leaders came to America from Germany to escape religious persecution — they were members of the Brethren church — in 1750. One of Leader’s ancestors, Frederick, fought in George Washington’s Continental Army during the American Revolution.
Leader was one of seven children of Guy Leader and the former Beulah Boyer, growing up on the family’s poultry farm on land deeded the family by William Penn in the area now known as Leader Heights.
Leader’s father taught despite the fact that he only completed the eighth grade himself. Guy Leader, in addition to being a school teacher, raised poultry and developed his own breed of chicken, the Leader Leghorn. “My father always said to never forget that little white chicken,” George Leader once said. “That little white chicken did a lot for the Leader family.”
Henry left York when he joined the Army. After his service, he went to college at Swarthmore, where he met his wife. They returned to York in 1947 after Henry finished law school.
In 1954, George Leader, in what was considered a major political upset, was elected governor of Pennsylvania. When he began to put together his staff, one of his first calls went to his younger brother, Henry B. Leader. Henry had been an attorney in York and had worked on his brother’s campaign. He took the job as legislative secretary in his brother’s administration. While George was the politician of the family, Henry was more soft-spoken and more analytical. He served as a good partner, a good man to help his brother convince Republicans in the state Legislature to support his seemingly liberal policies of progressive taxation, improving conditions for the mentally ill and elderly and fostering a racial equality — something he had remarkable success doing.
Theirs was a political family. Their father, Guy, a chicken farmer and one room school-house teacher, served as a state senator in the 1940s. George followed in his father’s footsteps.
Speaking of his brother’s politics, Henry said, “His whole career was a statement of a point of view, in political terms it’s called a liberal point of view, and interest in people, the well being of people, and he fell into the mold of what is sometimes referred to as the liberal democratic view, which is a paramount interest in people.”
_________________________________________
Published in York Daily Record & York Dispatch on Apr. 8, 2015
Henry Boyer Leader, 93, of York, Pennsylvania, died on Saturday, April 4, 2015, at Country Meadows of Leader Heights, Pine Grove Road, York, Pennsylvania.
Henry was born in a small farmhouse on that same Pine Grove Road in York, Pennsylvania, on January 7, 1922, to Guy Alvin and Beulah Naomi (Boyer) Leader.
He was their fifth of seven children. Through the eighth grade, Henry attended one-room schoolhouses, where his thirst for learning resulted in rapid advancement through the grades. He graduated from William Penn Senior High School in 1932, and at age 16, was admitted to Swarthmore College, where he met his future wife, Dorrie Morrell. Their 66-year marriage was infused with a shared passion for justice, community, love of family, the deepest respect for one another, and an enduring romance that has been a model to his children and friends.
After his 1942 graduation from Swarthmore, with honors, Henry began his education at Yale Law School in a year-round program designed for those entering the service. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II from January 1943 - May 1946, including over a year as a member of the 341st Signal Company in Torremaggiori, Italy. After qualifying with one of the two highest test scores in the Mediterranean Theater, he was appointed Warrant Officer JG and later Chief Warrant Officer (Administration) in Naples, Italy, ultimately serving as the Base Personnel Officer.
On June 8, 1946, he and Dorrie married and moved to New Haven, Connecticut, so that Henry could complete law school. He was a member of the Board of Editors of Yale Law Journal and the Order of the Coif, graduating in the top ten percent of his class in 1947. In 1948, he became associated in the practice of law with McClean Stock. Ultimately, they formed The Law Offices of Stock and Leader. Of his many accomplishments, Henry remained most proud of the firm he helped to found and how he shaped the culture of the firm, emphasizing the highest standards of legal acumen, ethics, and client and community service. He was always generous with his legal skills and clear thinking, the living embodiment of a philosophy that placed people first. Henry was a lifelong Democrat and a proud liberal. In 1955, his brother, Governor George M. Leader, tapped
Henry to serve as his Legislative Secretary. In this role, Henry acted as liaison between the governor and the legislature and also played an active policy role in the administration. Henry was "York, PA" through and through and his love for his home community was reflected in his predictable remark upon return from family road trips as the car crossed the County line: "Have you seen any place as beautiful as this?!" His and Dorrie's devotion to the City of York is threaded throughout their lives. In 1957, Henry was appointed Chair of both the Housing Authority and the Redevelopment Authority of the City of York, chairing the Housing Authority until 1968 and serving the better part of forty years on the Redevelopment Authority Board, including 31 years as Chair. He was immensely proud of his contribution to eliminating blighted areas in the City such as the demolition of the abandoned A.B. Farquhar plant on North George Street, which led to commercial and community development in the area. Over many years of service, he would participate in countless decisions and projects to move toward a vision of a city renaissance. From 1956, when he co-founded York Electrical Supply Company, to 1988 when as sole owner he sold the company to the employees, Henry enjoyed the success of bringing a startup company into full fruition. Henry served as a Director and the President of the Historical Society of York County for many years, President of United Community Services of York County in the early 1970s, Director of the York County Industrial Development Corp., a Director of Pennsylvania Mental Health, Inc., a Director of Historic York County, Inc., a Director of the Strand-Capital Performing Arts Center, a member of the Board of Governors of York Little Theater and Co-chair of a very successful capitol campaign, a Director for York City Dollars for Scholars, and a Director of the South George Street Community Partnership.
Henry and his wife Dorrie were early members of the Unitarian Universalist Church of York, joining in 1955. They raised their four daughters in the church and contributed to the life of UUCY in many supporting and leadership roles. Henry and Dorrie were honored with the City of York Community Service Award and the Exchange Club of York Golden Deeds Award. Their service to their alma mater, including through the Swarthmore Alumni Council, led to the Joseph Shane Award. In 2007, the York County Community Foundation raised over $80,000 for York City Dollars for Scholars and honored them with the named fund: "Henry and Dorrie Leader Education Endowment (2007) Leave A Legacy."
Henry also received the York Leadership Award from Mayor Brenner in 2009. Henry brought energy, intelligence, perfectionism, and sense of beauty to everything he did, from his law practice to his landscaping work in his yards in York and Rehoboth Beach to tying the bows on his daughters' Sunday dresses.
He was an interesting speaker who often held the floor without challenge whether at the dinner table, lunch at the Lafayette Club, a firm meeting, or a social gathering. He was a nurturing father and was a role model to his daughters, to the many new lawyers who came through Stock and Leader, and to those who served with him in various community enterprises, showing them how caring, learning, and serving gets results. He was well read and enjoyed discussions of his political, social, and religious views, never one to shy away from these forbidden topics. But his kind heart and passion for his subject carried much weight among even his greatest detractors. He was always a gentleman, always caring, extraordinarily generous to his family and community. Even in his final years, his smile and sense of humor won the hearts of his caregivers.
Henry is survived by his four daughters and their families.
Gov. Tom Wolf said, “Frances and I send our thoughts and prayers to Henry’s family. Henry was a close family friend and we are deeply saddened by his passing. We will forever be grateful to Henry for his service to his country and to the York community.”
Leader was a founding member of Stock and Leader, a law firm based in York County. In the early 1950s and ‘60s, Leader was the chairman of the Housing Authority in York and the redevelopment authority. He and his wife, Doris “Dorrie” Leader, who died in September 2012, were tireless advocates to civil rights in York County, and Pennsylvania.
Mr. Leader served in the United States Army, rising to Chief Warrant Officer and was Legislative Secretary to his brother George M. Leader, former Governor of Pennsylvania. Mr. Leader previously served as Chairman of the Housing Authority of York, and Chairman of the Redevelopment Authority of York.
The Leader family has deep roots in York County, and can count itself perhaps among the counties founding families. The first Leaders came to America from Germany to escape religious persecution — they were members of the Brethren church — in 1750. One of Leader’s ancestors, Frederick, fought in George Washington’s Continental Army during the American Revolution.
Leader was one of seven children of Guy Leader and the former Beulah Boyer, growing up on the family’s poultry farm on land deeded the family by William Penn in the area now known as Leader Heights.
Leader’s father taught despite the fact that he only completed the eighth grade himself. Guy Leader, in addition to being a school teacher, raised poultry and developed his own breed of chicken, the Leader Leghorn. “My father always said to never forget that little white chicken,” George Leader once said. “That little white chicken did a lot for the Leader family.”
Henry left York when he joined the Army. After his service, he went to college at Swarthmore, where he met his wife. They returned to York in 1947 after Henry finished law school.
In 1954, George Leader, in what was considered a major political upset, was elected governor of Pennsylvania. When he began to put together his staff, one of his first calls went to his younger brother, Henry B. Leader. Henry had been an attorney in York and had worked on his brother’s campaign. He took the job as legislative secretary in his brother’s administration. While George was the politician of the family, Henry was more soft-spoken and more analytical. He served as a good partner, a good man to help his brother convince Republicans in the state Legislature to support his seemingly liberal policies of progressive taxation, improving conditions for the mentally ill and elderly and fostering a racial equality — something he had remarkable success doing.
Theirs was a political family. Their father, Guy, a chicken farmer and one room school-house teacher, served as a state senator in the 1940s. George followed in his father’s footsteps.
Speaking of his brother’s politics, Henry said, “His whole career was a statement of a point of view, in political terms it’s called a liberal point of view, and interest in people, the well being of people, and he fell into the mold of what is sometimes referred to as the liberal democratic view, which is a paramount interest in people.”
_________________________________________
Published in York Daily Record & York Dispatch on Apr. 8, 2015
Henry Boyer Leader, 93, of York, Pennsylvania, died on Saturday, April 4, 2015, at Country Meadows of Leader Heights, Pine Grove Road, York, Pennsylvania.
Henry was born in a small farmhouse on that same Pine Grove Road in York, Pennsylvania, on January 7, 1922, to Guy Alvin and Beulah Naomi (Boyer) Leader.
He was their fifth of seven children. Through the eighth grade, Henry attended one-room schoolhouses, where his thirst for learning resulted in rapid advancement through the grades. He graduated from William Penn Senior High School in 1932, and at age 16, was admitted to Swarthmore College, where he met his future wife, Dorrie Morrell. Their 66-year marriage was infused with a shared passion for justice, community, love of family, the deepest respect for one another, and an enduring romance that has been a model to his children and friends.
After his 1942 graduation from Swarthmore, with honors, Henry began his education at Yale Law School in a year-round program designed for those entering the service. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II from January 1943 - May 1946, including over a year as a member of the 341st Signal Company in Torremaggiori, Italy. After qualifying with one of the two highest test scores in the Mediterranean Theater, he was appointed Warrant Officer JG and later Chief Warrant Officer (Administration) in Naples, Italy, ultimately serving as the Base Personnel Officer.
On June 8, 1946, he and Dorrie married and moved to New Haven, Connecticut, so that Henry could complete law school. He was a member of the Board of Editors of Yale Law Journal and the Order of the Coif, graduating in the top ten percent of his class in 1947. In 1948, he became associated in the practice of law with McClean Stock. Ultimately, they formed The Law Offices of Stock and Leader. Of his many accomplishments, Henry remained most proud of the firm he helped to found and how he shaped the culture of the firm, emphasizing the highest standards of legal acumen, ethics, and client and community service. He was always generous with his legal skills and clear thinking, the living embodiment of a philosophy that placed people first. Henry was a lifelong Democrat and a proud liberal. In 1955, his brother, Governor George M. Leader, tapped
Henry to serve as his Legislative Secretary. In this role, Henry acted as liaison between the governor and the legislature and also played an active policy role in the administration. Henry was "York, PA" through and through and his love for his home community was reflected in his predictable remark upon return from family road trips as the car crossed the County line: "Have you seen any place as beautiful as this?!" His and Dorrie's devotion to the City of York is threaded throughout their lives. In 1957, Henry was appointed Chair of both the Housing Authority and the Redevelopment Authority of the City of York, chairing the Housing Authority until 1968 and serving the better part of forty years on the Redevelopment Authority Board, including 31 years as Chair. He was immensely proud of his contribution to eliminating blighted areas in the City such as the demolition of the abandoned A.B. Farquhar plant on North George Street, which led to commercial and community development in the area. Over many years of service, he would participate in countless decisions and projects to move toward a vision of a city renaissance. From 1956, when he co-founded York Electrical Supply Company, to 1988 when as sole owner he sold the company to the employees, Henry enjoyed the success of bringing a startup company into full fruition. Henry served as a Director and the President of the Historical Society of York County for many years, President of United Community Services of York County in the early 1970s, Director of the York County Industrial Development Corp., a Director of Pennsylvania Mental Health, Inc., a Director of Historic York County, Inc., a Director of the Strand-Capital Performing Arts Center, a member of the Board of Governors of York Little Theater and Co-chair of a very successful capitol campaign, a Director for York City Dollars for Scholars, and a Director of the South George Street Community Partnership.
Henry and his wife Dorrie were early members of the Unitarian Universalist Church of York, joining in 1955. They raised their four daughters in the church and contributed to the life of UUCY in many supporting and leadership roles. Henry and Dorrie were honored with the City of York Community Service Award and the Exchange Club of York Golden Deeds Award. Their service to their alma mater, including through the Swarthmore Alumni Council, led to the Joseph Shane Award. In 2007, the York County Community Foundation raised over $80,000 for York City Dollars for Scholars and honored them with the named fund: "Henry and Dorrie Leader Education Endowment (2007) Leave A Legacy."
Henry also received the York Leadership Award from Mayor Brenner in 2009. Henry brought energy, intelligence, perfectionism, and sense of beauty to everything he did, from his law practice to his landscaping work in his yards in York and Rehoboth Beach to tying the bows on his daughters' Sunday dresses.
He was an interesting speaker who often held the floor without challenge whether at the dinner table, lunch at the Lafayette Club, a firm meeting, or a social gathering. He was a nurturing father and was a role model to his daughters, to the many new lawyers who came through Stock and Leader, and to those who served with him in various community enterprises, showing them how caring, learning, and serving gets results. He was well read and enjoyed discussions of his political, social, and religious views, never one to shy away from these forbidden topics. But his kind heart and passion for his subject carried much weight among even his greatest detractors. He was always a gentleman, always caring, extraordinarily generous to his family and community. Even in his final years, his smile and sense of humor won the hearts of his caregivers.
Henry is survived by his four daughters and their families.
Henry Leader, a founding member of a law firm that in part shared his name, Stock and Leader, and a proponent of civil rights in York, died Saturday morning, Kuhner Associates funeral home and a family member said. He was 93.
Gov. Tom Wolf said, “Frances and I send our thoughts and prayers to Henry’s family. Henry was a close family friend and we are deeply saddened by his passing. We will forever be grateful to Henry for his service to his country and to the York community.”
Leader was a founding member of Stock and Leader, a law firm based in York County. In the early 1950s and ‘60s, Leader was the chairman of the Housing Authority in York and the redevelopment authority. He and his wife, Doris “Dorrie” Leader, who died in September 2012, were tireless advocates to civil rights in York County, and Pennsylvania.
Mr. Leader served in the United States Army, rising to Chief Warrant Officer and was Legislative Secretary to his brother George M. Leader, former Governor of Pennsylvania. Mr. Leader previously served as Chairman of the Housing Authority of York, and Chairman of the Redevelopment Authority of York.
The Leader family has deep roots in York County, and can count itself perhaps among the counties founding families. The first Leaders came to America from Germany to escape religious persecution — they were members of the Brethren church — in 1750. One of Leader’s ancestors, Frederick, fought in George Washington’s Continental Army during the American Revolution.
Leader was one of seven children of Guy Leader and the former Beulah Boyer, growing up on the family’s poultry farm on land deeded the family by William Penn in the area now known as Leader Heights.
Leader’s father taught despite the fact that he only completed the eighth grade himself. Guy Leader, in addition to being a school teacher, raised poultry and developed his own breed of chicken, the Leader Leghorn. “My father always said to never forget that little white chicken,” George Leader once said. “That little white chicken did a lot for the Leader family.”
Henry left York when he joined the Army. After his service, he went to college at Swarthmore, where he met his wife. They returned to York in 1947 after Henry finished law school.
In 1954, George Leader, in what was considered a major political upset, was elected governor of Pennsylvania. When he began to put together his staff, one of his first calls went to his younger brother, Henry B. Leader. Henry had been an attorney in York and had worked on his brother’s campaign. He took the job as legislative secretary in his brother’s administration. While George was the politician of the family, Henry was more soft-spoken and more analytical. He served as a good partner, a good man to help his brother convince Republicans in the state Legislature to support his seemingly liberal policies of progressive taxation, improving conditions for the mentally ill and elderly and fostering a racial equality — something he had remarkable success doing.
Theirs was a political family. Their father, Guy, a chicken farmer and one room school-house teacher, served as a state senator in the 1940s. George followed in his father’s footsteps.
Speaking of his brother’s politics, Henry said, “His whole career was a statement of a point of view, in political terms it’s called a liberal point of view, and interest in people, the well being of people, and he fell into the mold of what is sometimes referred to as the liberal democratic view, which is a paramount interest in people.”
_________________________________________
Published in York Daily Record & York Dispatch on Apr. 8, 2015
Henry Boyer Leader, 93, of York, Pennsylvania, died on Saturday, April 4, 2015, at Country Meadows of Leader Heights, Pine Grove Road, York, Pennsylvania.
Henry was born in a small farmhouse on that same Pine Grove Road in York, Pennsylvania, on January 7, 1922, to Guy Alvin and Beulah Naomi (Boyer) Leader.
He was their fifth of seven children. Through the eighth grade, Henry attended one-room schoolhouses, where his thirst for learning resulted in rapid advancement through the grades. He graduated from William Penn Senior High School in 1932, and at age 16, was admitted to Swarthmore College, where he met his future wife, Dorrie Morrell. Their 66-year marriage was infused with a shared passion for justice, community, love of family, the deepest respect for one another, and an enduring romance that has been a model to his children and friends.
After his 1942 graduation from Swarthmore, with honors, Henry began his education at Yale Law School in a year-round program designed for those entering the service. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II from January 1943 - May 1946, including over a year as a member of the 341st Signal Company in Torremaggiori, Italy. After qualifying with one of the two highest test scores in the Mediterranean Theater, he was appointed Warrant Officer JG and later Chief Warrant Officer (Administration) in Naples, Italy, ultimately serving as the Base Personnel Officer.
On June 8, 1946, he and Dorrie married and moved to New Haven, Connecticut, so that Henry could complete law school. He was a member of the Board of Editors of Yale Law Journal and the Order of the Coif, graduating in the top ten percent of his class in 1947. In 1948, he became associated in the practice of law with McClean Stock. Ultimately, they formed The Law Offices of Stock and Leader. Of his many accomplishments, Henry remained most proud of the firm he helped to found and how he shaped the culture of the firm, emphasizing the highest standards of legal acumen, ethics, and client and community service. He was always generous with his legal skills and clear thinking, the living embodiment of a philosophy that placed people first. Henry was a lifelong Democrat and a proud liberal. In 1955, his brother, Governor George M. Leader, tapped
Henry to serve as his Legislative Secretary. In this role, Henry acted as liaison between the governor and the legislature and also played an active policy role in the administration. Henry was "York, PA" through and through and his love for his home community was reflected in his predictable remark upon return from family road trips as the car crossed the County line: "Have you seen any place as beautiful as this?!" His and Dorrie's devotion to the City of York is threaded throughout their lives. In 1957, Henry was appointed Chair of both the Housing Authority and the Redevelopment Authority of the City of York, chairing the Housing Authority until 1968 and serving the better part of forty years on the Redevelopment Authority Board, including 31 years as Chair. He was immensely proud of his contribution to eliminating blighted areas in the City such as the demolition of the abandoned A.B. Farquhar plant on North George Street, which led to commercial and community development in the area. Over many years of service, he would participate in countless decisions and projects to move toward a vision of a city renaissance. From 1956, when he co-founded York Electrical Supply Company, to 1988 when as sole owner he sold the company to the employees, Henry enjoyed the success of bringing a startup company into full fruition. Henry served as a Director and the President of the Historical Society of York County for many years, President of United Community Services of York County in the early 1970s, Director of the York County Industrial Development Corp., a Director of Pennsylvania Mental Health, Inc., a Director of Historic York County, Inc., a Director of the Strand-Capital Performing Arts Center, a member of the Board of Governors of York Little Theater and Co-chair of a very successful capitol campaign, a Director for York City Dollars for Scholars, and a Director of the South George Street Community Partnership.
Henry and his wife Dorrie were early members of the Unitarian Universalist Church of York, joining in 1955. They raised their four daughters in the church and contributed to the life of UUCY in many supporting and leadership roles. Henry and Dorrie were honored with the City of York Community Service Award and the Exchange Club of York Golden Deeds Award. Their service to their alma mater, including through the Swarthmore Alumni Council, led to the Joseph Shane Award. In 2007, the York County Community Foundation raised over $80,000 for York City Dollars for Scholars and honored them with the named fund: "Henry and Dorrie Leader Education Endowment (2007) Leave A Legacy."
Henry also received the York Leadership Award from Mayor Brenner in 2009. Henry brought energy, intelligence, perfectionism, and sense of beauty to everything he did, from his law practice to his landscaping work in his yards in York and Rehoboth Beach to tying the bows on his daughters' Sunday dresses.
He was an interesting speaker who often held the floor without challenge whether at the dinner table, lunch at the Lafayette Club, a firm meeting, or a social gathering. He was a nurturing father and was a role model to his daughters, to the many new lawyers who came through Stock and Leader, and to those who served with him in various community enterprises, showing them how caring, learning, and serving gets results. He was well read and enjoyed discussions of his political, social, and religious views, never one to shy away from these forbidden topics. But his kind heart and passion for his subject carried much weight among even his greatest detractors. He was always a gentleman, always caring, extraordinarily generous to his family and community. Even in his final years, his smile and sense of humor won the hearts of his caregivers.
Henry is survived by his four daughters and their families.
Gov. Tom Wolf said, “Frances and I send our thoughts and prayers to Henry’s family. Henry was a close family friend and we are deeply saddened by his passing. We will forever be grateful to Henry for his service to his country and to the York community.”
Leader was a founding member of Stock and Leader, a law firm based in York County. In the early 1950s and ‘60s, Leader was the chairman of the Housing Authority in York and the redevelopment authority. He and his wife, Doris “Dorrie” Leader, who died in September 2012, were tireless advocates to civil rights in York County, and Pennsylvania.
Mr. Leader served in the United States Army, rising to Chief Warrant Officer and was Legislative Secretary to his brother George M. Leader, former Governor of Pennsylvania. Mr. Leader previously served as Chairman of the Housing Authority of York, and Chairman of the Redevelopment Authority of York.
The Leader family has deep roots in York County, and can count itself perhaps among the counties founding families. The first Leaders came to America from Germany to escape religious persecution — they were members of the Brethren church — in 1750. One of Leader’s ancestors, Frederick, fought in George Washington’s Continental Army during the American Revolution.
Leader was one of seven children of Guy Leader and the former Beulah Boyer, growing up on the family’s poultry farm on land deeded the family by William Penn in the area now known as Leader Heights.
Leader’s father taught despite the fact that he only completed the eighth grade himself. Guy Leader, in addition to being a school teacher, raised poultry and developed his own breed of chicken, the Leader Leghorn. “My father always said to never forget that little white chicken,” George Leader once said. “That little white chicken did a lot for the Leader family.”
Henry left York when he joined the Army. After his service, he went to college at Swarthmore, where he met his wife. They returned to York in 1947 after Henry finished law school.
In 1954, George Leader, in what was considered a major political upset, was elected governor of Pennsylvania. When he began to put together his staff, one of his first calls went to his younger brother, Henry B. Leader. Henry had been an attorney in York and had worked on his brother’s campaign. He took the job as legislative secretary in his brother’s administration. While George was the politician of the family, Henry was more soft-spoken and more analytical. He served as a good partner, a good man to help his brother convince Republicans in the state Legislature to support his seemingly liberal policies of progressive taxation, improving conditions for the mentally ill and elderly and fostering a racial equality — something he had remarkable success doing.
Theirs was a political family. Their father, Guy, a chicken farmer and one room school-house teacher, served as a state senator in the 1940s. George followed in his father’s footsteps.
Speaking of his brother’s politics, Henry said, “His whole career was a statement of a point of view, in political terms it’s called a liberal point of view, and interest in people, the well being of people, and he fell into the mold of what is sometimes referred to as the liberal democratic view, which is a paramount interest in people.”
_________________________________________
Published in York Daily Record & York Dispatch on Apr. 8, 2015
Henry Boyer Leader, 93, of York, Pennsylvania, died on Saturday, April 4, 2015, at Country Meadows of Leader Heights, Pine Grove Road, York, Pennsylvania.
Henry was born in a small farmhouse on that same Pine Grove Road in York, Pennsylvania, on January 7, 1922, to Guy Alvin and Beulah Naomi (Boyer) Leader.
He was their fifth of seven children. Through the eighth grade, Henry attended one-room schoolhouses, where his thirst for learning resulted in rapid advancement through the grades. He graduated from William Penn Senior High School in 1932, and at age 16, was admitted to Swarthmore College, where he met his future wife, Dorrie Morrell. Their 66-year marriage was infused with a shared passion for justice, community, love of family, the deepest respect for one another, and an enduring romance that has been a model to his children and friends.
After his 1942 graduation from Swarthmore, with honors, Henry began his education at Yale Law School in a year-round program designed for those entering the service. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II from January 1943 - May 1946, including over a year as a member of the 341st Signal Company in Torremaggiori, Italy. After qualifying with one of the two highest test scores in the Mediterranean Theater, he was appointed Warrant Officer JG and later Chief Warrant Officer (Administration) in Naples, Italy, ultimately serving as the Base Personnel Officer.
On June 8, 1946, he and Dorrie married and moved to New Haven, Connecticut, so that Henry could complete law school. He was a member of the Board of Editors of Yale Law Journal and the Order of the Coif, graduating in the top ten percent of his class in 1947. In 1948, he became associated in the practice of law with McClean Stock. Ultimately, they formed The Law Offices of Stock and Leader. Of his many accomplishments, Henry remained most proud of the firm he helped to found and how he shaped the culture of the firm, emphasizing the highest standards of legal acumen, ethics, and client and community service. He was always generous with his legal skills and clear thinking, the living embodiment of a philosophy that placed people first. Henry was a lifelong Democrat and a proud liberal. In 1955, his brother, Governor George M. Leader, tapped
Henry to serve as his Legislative Secretary. In this role, Henry acted as liaison between the governor and the legislature and also played an active policy role in the administration. Henry was "York, PA" through and through and his love for his home community was reflected in his predictable remark upon return from family road trips as the car crossed the County line: "Have you seen any place as beautiful as this?!" His and Dorrie's devotion to the City of York is threaded throughout their lives. In 1957, Henry was appointed Chair of both the Housing Authority and the Redevelopment Authority of the City of York, chairing the Housing Authority until 1968 and serving the better part of forty years on the Redevelopment Authority Board, including 31 years as Chair. He was immensely proud of his contribution to eliminating blighted areas in the City such as the demolition of the abandoned A.B. Farquhar plant on North George Street, which led to commercial and community development in the area. Over many years of service, he would participate in countless decisions and projects to move toward a vision of a city renaissance. From 1956, when he co-founded York Electrical Supply Company, to 1988 when as sole owner he sold the company to the employees, Henry enjoyed the success of bringing a startup company into full fruition. Henry served as a Director and the President of the Historical Society of York County for many years, President of United Community Services of York County in the early 1970s, Director of the York County Industrial Development Corp., a Director of Pennsylvania Mental Health, Inc., a Director of Historic York County, Inc., a Director of the Strand-Capital Performing Arts Center, a member of the Board of Governors of York Little Theater and Co-chair of a very successful capitol campaign, a Director for York City Dollars for Scholars, and a Director of the South George Street Community Partnership.
Henry and his wife Dorrie were early members of the Unitarian Universalist Church of York, joining in 1955. They raised their four daughters in the church and contributed to the life of UUCY in many supporting and leadership roles. Henry and Dorrie were honored with the City of York Community Service Award and the Exchange Club of York Golden Deeds Award. Their service to their alma mater, including through the Swarthmore Alumni Council, led to the Joseph Shane Award. In 2007, the York County Community Foundation raised over $80,000 for York City Dollars for Scholars and honored them with the named fund: "Henry and Dorrie Leader Education Endowment (2007) Leave A Legacy."
Henry also received the York Leadership Award from Mayor Brenner in 2009. Henry brought energy, intelligence, perfectionism, and sense of beauty to everything he did, from his law practice to his landscaping work in his yards in York and Rehoboth Beach to tying the bows on his daughters' Sunday dresses.
He was an interesting speaker who often held the floor without challenge whether at the dinner table, lunch at the Lafayette Club, a firm meeting, or a social gathering. He was a nurturing father and was a role model to his daughters, to the many new lawyers who came through Stock and Leader, and to those who served with him in various community enterprises, showing them how caring, learning, and serving gets results. He was well read and enjoyed discussions of his political, social, and religious views, never one to shy away from these forbidden topics. But his kind heart and passion for his subject carried much weight among even his greatest detractors. He was always a gentleman, always caring, extraordinarily generous to his family and community. Even in his final years, his smile and sense of humor won the hearts of his caregivers.
Henry is survived by his four daughters and their families.
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