Dr. Leroy Paul Ash
Dr. Leroy Paul Ash, 81, of Meadow Lane, Marietta, died on Sunday afternoon, (Nov. 13, 2011). He was born on Nov. 18, 1929, in the Oak Grove Neighborhood to Flavius Josephus and Winifred Edith Shutts Ash.
He attended the one room schoolhouse of Oak Grove School and graduated from Marietta High School in 1947. He attended Ohio University in Athens, Ohio and graduated with a BS in Zoology in 1952. He was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Air Force the same year. He served in the USAF from 1952-1954 and was honorably discharged as a 1st Lieutenant. He enrolled in the College of Dentistry at The Ohio State University and graduated as a Doctor of Dental Surgery in l960.
He opened his private practice in Marietta on June 31, 1960, and retired after 45 years of service.
He was a member of the Church of Christ at Warner, Ohio. He was a loving husband and father and was dedicated to taking care of his wife during her illness.
He has been active in many organizations and will be remembered as a community leader. He was in the Mid-Ohio Valley Players Theatre and was instrumental in helping to acquire the building for its present location. He was the president of the Marietta High School Athletic Boosters for eight years and helped raised over $97,000 for the organization. During his term in office, the popular Lemon Shake Stand was created. He was a member/director of Arts Bridge, a board member of the OSU Alumni Association and the originator of the Southeastern Dental Clinic on Gilman Avenue for which he received the Marietta Civitan Club Citizen of the Year award in 1998.
He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Arminda Ames Ash; three sons, Steve Ash and his wife, Darcie of Marietta, David Ash of Roswell, Georgia, and Mark Ash of Marietta; one daughter, MaraLee Spindler and her husband, Charles of Marietta; seven grandchildren; two great grandchildren; one brother, Lawrence E. Ash of Marietta; two sisters, Martha Ash Hunter and Mary Ash Kraner, both of Marietta; and several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; one daughter, Kathleen E. Pritchard; one brother, Dr. Clarence Ash; four sisters, Dorothy Ash Bender, Elsie Ash Hanson, Virgie Ash Dixon and Margaret Ash Milnor.
Services will be held 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the McClure-Schafer-Lankford Funeral Home, 314 Fourth Street in Marietta. Burial will follow at East Lawn Memorial Park. Friends may call at the funeral home from 6 p.m. Thursday until the hour of the service. Family will be present from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday and 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday.