Kent Leacock

Kent Francis Leacock Jr., 49, a leader in Washington, D.C.’s recovery community, died Wednesday, September 2, 1998, at the Washington Hospital Center of complications from AIDS, according to his friend Cameron Wolf of Hanover, Maryland.

Leacock was born June 24, 1949, in Washington, D.C. His father was in the U.S. Army, so the family traveled around and he graduated from Ludwigsburg American High School in Germany in 1967 and went on to study social sciences at the City College of San Francisco in 1968. In 1969, Leacock enlisted in the Air Force for four years and was stationed in Hawaii.

Later, Leacock moved back to D.C., where in August 1976 he met his "spouse" of 22 years, Boston native Frederick Rodd.

Rodd said people often asked them how they managed to stay together so long. "We didn’t have a lot in common," Rodd said, "but we stayed together for 22 years because there wasn’t a day in those 22 years that I didn’t feel completely loved by him and he didn’t feel unconditionally loved by me."

Leacock worked as a clerk at the Waterside Mall Safeway in Southwest D.C. for 13 years, retiring in 1995. He was an active member and leader of the recovery community and in January 1990 was a founder and original member on the board of directors of the Triangle Club, D.C.’s Gay recovery clubhouse.

"During his 17 years of sobriety, Kent was one of the guiding lights of the D.C. recovery community and dedicated his life toward reaching out to help people suffering from drug and alcohol addiction," Wolf said.

In addition to Rodd, he is survived by his mother, Cera Catlett Leacock of Washington, D.C.; and by "countless friends whose lives he touched," Wolf said.

He was predeceased by his father, Col. Kent Leacock Sr.

A memorial service will be Sunday, Sept. 27, at 4:30 p.m. at All Souls Memorial Episcopal Church, 2300 Cathedral Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. (one block off Connecticut Avenue). A reception will follow the service.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Kent Leacock Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 65078, Washington, DC 20035. Rodd said the money will go toward paying Leacock’s hospital and funeral expenses.