Former Congressman and Louisiana legislator Claude “Buddy” Leach died Saturday of congestive heart failure, according to his family. Leach served one term in Congress, four terms in the legislature, and ran for governor in 2003.
He was the son of a plumber who lost his mother at an early age. Leesville Senator Mike Reese says his innate business sense and knack for connecting with people helped him build a business fortune and succeed in politics.
“His ability to remember and recall, people’s family connections, always astonished me,” said Reese.
Leach was an attorney and married into a family that owned Sweet Lake Land and Oil company in the southwest Louisiana. Sweet Lake’s cattle herd became the largest in the country under his direction. He also served on the Leesville-based Merchants and Farmers Bank for over 40 years and Reese says for nearly two decades he was the chairman.
“All though Buddy went on to enjoy great success in business and very large businesses in Louisiana and a lot of public service success as well, I believe his heart always remained in where he started,” said Reese.
Leach was born in Leesville, Louisiana in 1934 and educated in the Vernon Parish Public School System. He received his undergrad from LSU and then served in the United States Army. After his military career, Leach graduated from LSU’s law school in 1963.
Reese says Leach’s main goal was to make Louisiana better.
“With Buddy’s success, it gave him the ability to support charitable giving and support things that he saw for his state and community,” said Reese.
Leach’s public record wasn’t perfect. He was charged—but acquitted—of vote buying in 1979 and lost his reelection to Congress in 1980.
He was 88-years-old. Leach’s funeral is Friday at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Lake Charles.
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