Obituaries : Julia Ann Leach; Community Volunteer

Julia Ann Leach, a longtime resident of Ventura, died Tuesday at her home. She was 81.

Leach was born in 1914 in Staunton, Ill. She relocated to Ventura County in 1947 from the Napa Valley area. “She loved everybody,” said her daughter, Flora Dell Blair. “She never met a stranger. She was a happy, joyful person, inside and out.”

Her life revolved around her family. Since her husband was a plumber, she was active in the women’s auxiliary of the local plumbers’ union. She also served as a Girl Scout troop leader when her daughter was growing up.

Besides being a wife and mother, Leach was an active volunteer, particularly when it came to helping out at hospitals. She was involved in the local chapters of the American Heart Assn. and the American Cancer Society. She loved to garden and cook.

In addition to her daughter, she is survived by her husband, Robert E. Leach, two grandchildren and a great-grandchild, all of Ventura. She is also survived by two sisters, Mary Popelar of Los Angeles and Ida Magill of Simi Valley; and her twin, Amelia Muratori of Suisun, Calif.

Funeral arrangements are being handled by the Joseph P. Reardon Funeral Home in Ventura.

Donations may be made in Julia Ann Leach’s name to the Girl Scouts of America Tres Condados Council, P.O. Box 30187, Santa Barbara 93130.