Robert Leeson Jr.

Robert Leeson, Jr., known as Rob to his friends, died peacefully, surrounded by his family on January 5, 2025. Rob lived a very long and extraordinary life and was grateful for the gifts and beauty of each and every day! He loved all of the natural world, whether he was sailing the oceans, walking the woods, skiing the mountains, or feeding his beloved birds.

Rob was born to Evelyn O.T. Leeson and Robert Leeson in Boston, on December 23, 1932. His childhood years were spent in the Boston area where he attended the Charles River School and Dexter School. He later matriculated at St. Mark’s School where he played football, hockey, and rowed with the crew team. As a college student at Harvard, he was a member of the Owl Club and participated in the ski team. After graduating from Harvard in 1955, he served in the US Army stationed in Korea where he achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant. Following his military service, Rob returned to New England and married Margaret Hazard Goddard, of Providence, in August of 1958. With their growing family, Rob and Peggy lived briefly in Akron, OH, Atlanta, GA, and Charlotte, NC before settling in Rhode Island in 1967.

Rob’s early career was with The Gillette Company, followed by the then Rhode Island based textile machinery company Leesona Corporation. Rob continued his work at Leesona until 1981, when the company was sold to the English firm Crompton and Knowles. He stayed in textiles briefly working for Globe Manufacturing in Fall River, MA, before moving on to a career in business brokerage, eventually establishing his own company, Leeson Associates, until his retirement in 2008.

Throughout his life, Rob was a faithful steward of the land. He devoted countless hours on behalf of numerous environmental organizations including Save the Bay, Narrow River Preservation Association, University of Rhode Island Metcalf Institute, and Conservation Law Foundation. Rob’s love for the environment was and remains an inspiration to his children and grandchildren and he was profoundly proud of his many conservancy accomplishments. Closer to home, Rob was an avid vegetable gardener and for many years a passionate grower of dahlias, digging up and boxing the tubers each fall for storage over the cold New England winters.

Rob was a life-long sailor, spending many a weekend with his family captaining the family sailboat Hope San throughout Narragansett Bay and the Elizabeth Islands, and participating in Newport's Classic Yacht Regatta. Rob was a member of the Cruising Club of America and the New York Yacht Club. He was also an active member of the Newport to Bermuda Race Committee, and was fortunate to have been a frequent participant in the race throughout his life. In 2004, Rob and the crew aboard Diva, raced from Newport to Bermuda, and then continued onto Ireland, realizing his dream of completing a transatlantic crossing.

Rob was well known at his home ski area of Cannon Mountain in Franconia, NH for always skiing in deerskin knickers and almost never with a hat. The bitter cold of Cannon rarely subdued his enthusiasm to share this pleasure and skill with his children, and it was said by locals that “if Rob Leeson was not out, it was simply too cold to ski”. In his later years, he and Peggy spent their winters skiing and exploring in the high desert mountains of Taos, NM with their youngest son Jamie and his family.

Until very recently, Rob and Peggy enjoyed traveling the world to a dizzying number of locations to experience and photograph the cultures and people of our planet. They always travelled with friends and delighted in meeting local residents, hearing their stories, and enjoying the cuisine in all ports of call.

Rob remained active in his philanthropic, familial, and outdoor pursuits and maintained his humor and graciousness until the very end. He truly lived a charmed life and passed easily to the next realm following a brief hospital stay.

In addition to his parents, Rob was predeceased by his brother Richmond Talbot Leeson. Rob is survived by his wife of 66 years, Peggy, their four children and spouses: Hope Leeson and John Mills of South Kingstown, RI, Bob and Lolli Leeson of Marblehead, MA, Margaret Leeson and Tom Gramaglia of Concord, MA and Jamie and Doony Leeson of Taos, NM. Rob is also survived and adored by his nine grandchildren: Jack and Ivy Mills, Robbie, Nate and Annabelle Leeson, Abby, Peter and Silas Gramaglia and Josie Leeson.

In lieu of flowers, Rob’s family wishes that contributions be made in his memory to the University of Rhode Island, Metcalf Institute's Leeson Lecture Series, or any of the environmental organizations to which Rob devoted his time and shared his expertise.

A memorial service celebrating Rob’s life will be held on Saturday June 21, 2025 at 10AM in St. Peter’s by-the-Sea Episcopal Church, Narragansett.