George Leo Leed Jr. died after a long illness at the home of his son Travis Leed and son-in-law Thomas Linfante Jr. in Wesley Chapel, N.C., on Sept. 12, 2018, at the age of 69.

George was born on June 22, 1949, in Newport News, the son of the late George Leo Leed Sr. and the late Katherine Anna Leed. He is survived by his beloved wife of 43 years, Douglas Lemmon “Dougie” Leed, of New Bern, N.C., and their two children, Emily Katherine “Katie” Leed, of New Bern, N.C., and Travis Parker Leed (Thomas), of Wesley Chapel, N.C. He is also survived by his sister, Anne Marie Snyder (John), of San Diego, Calif., brother, Michael Edward Leed, of Key West, Fla., and many much-loved cousins, nieces and nephews.

George attended Craddock High School in Portsmouth and then entered the U.S. Air Force at the age of 18, serving with honor and bravery in the Vietnam War. After receiving an honorable discharge after eight years in the U.S. Air Force, George worked for Grumman Aerospace in Bethpage, N.Y. In 1975, George married the love of his life, Douglas Lemmon “Dougie” Leed. Shortly thereafter, George and Douglas moved to Isfahan, Iran to continue working for Grumman Aerospace. Douglas recalls this as the most exciting time in their lives together. In 1977, George and Douglas relocated to Douglas’s hometown of Suffolk for the birth of their first child, Katie. George worked for Grumman Aerospace until 1995, when he took a job as a contractor for the U.S. government at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach. In 2006, George and Douglas moved to New Bern, N.C., after George was transferred to Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point. George worked with determination, integrity and strength until his retirement in 2011. George was a loyal Boy Scout troop leader for his son Travis’s Boy Scout troop, as well as being a faithful member of Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church in Suffolk and Trinity Episcopal Church in Portsmouth. The many passions of George’s life included his wife and children, golf, cooking, yard work, boating on the Nansemond River, the family beach cottage on the Outer Banks and the F-14 Tomcat Fighter Jet. George cherished an especially close and loving relationship with his parents-in-law, the late Emily and Edward T. Lemmon Jr. He was a funny, hardworking, loyal, dedicated, loving, kind, just, forthright husband, father, father-in-law, son-in-law, brother and friend.

A memorial service will be tentatively held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 6, 2018, at Cotten Funeral Home, 2201 Neuse Blvd., New Bern, NC 28560 with reception to follow. Updated information will be posted in the newspaper as soon as the hurricane damage has been assessed. You may also go to cottenfuneralhome.com for updated information. Private interment will be held at a later date. Donations may be made to The Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters, 601 Children’s Lane, Norfolk, VA 23507.