Leon Barwick Obituary

Leon Sinclair Barwick Jr.

Wetumpka - Col. Leon S. Barwick, Jr., 85, passed to eternal life on Thursday, March 26, after a long illness. Born on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, November 27, 1940, he later spent years of his childhood after WWII in Italy, where his father was stationed in the U.S. Army. Returning to the States, the family settled in Sumter, South Carolina, where Leon spent early mornings on his route delivering newspapers, and where he served as center on his high school football team.

During his childhood and teen years, he developed a lifelong passion for the sport of golf, at which he excelled. Not long after entering The Citadel as a cadet in 1958, he met the love of his life, Mary Roempke. Crucial to winning her heart was his exceptional dancing skills, particularly "The Shag", and the two spent many moonlit nights on Charleston-area beaches tripping the lights fantastic.

After graduating from The Citadel in 1962, Leon entered the U.S. Air Force for what would become a long and distinguished career of service. On June 8, 1963, he married Mary, and the couple began a life and a family together, moving from state to state. He volunteered to serve in Vietnam a half-dozen times but instead was stationed in England during the late 1960s and early 1970s. While overseas, he relished the opportunity to play the legendary links of St. Andrew's golf course in Scotland.

By the mid 1970s, Leon and Mary had four children whom they adored as they lived in Texas and Ohio. In 1977, Leon and the family moved to Montgomery, Alabama for the Air Command and Staff College with Air University. He and Mary loved the area, and with the exception of his spending a yearlong remote tour in South Korea in 1983-84, the Barwicks settled in Montgomery for the next several decades. After 26 years, Leon retired as a full colonel, and then devoted over a decade to the Alabama State Department of Public Health, procuring and implementing information technology systems statewide. He retired in the early 2000s to enjoy life along a golf course in Emerald Mountain in Wetumpka, Alabama.

A devout Catholic, Leon regularly attended daily Mass and served as sacristan. Leon was a loving and generous man to family, friends, colleagues, and employees alike. He was devoted to his wife, whose artistic career he fully supported. He was immensely proud of his children and later, 14 grandchildren. He will be especially missed by his family.

Leon was preceded in death by his beloved Mary, by his parents Leon Sr. and Loretta Barwick, and by his sisters Anne Barwick and Aurelia Speir. He is survived by children Carla Barwick, Leon Barwick III, Luke Barwick (Nicole), and Chad Barwick (Christine).

The funeral Mass for Col. Leon S. Barwick, Jr. will be Thursday, April 9, at 2 pm at the St. Joseph Abbey near Covington (75376 River Road, St. Benedict, LA 70457) at 2 pm. Visitation will be at 1 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations are encouraged to Cross Catholic Outreach.

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