Ratay-Johnstone Ancestors - Person Sheet
Ratay-Johnstone Ancestors - Person Sheet
NameMichael Edmunds LEARY 
Death20 Apr 2015, Northern California
Occupationcustom furniture maker; Army Corps of Engineers; Chief Engineer Santa Rosa Water Dept.
EducationGraduate Degree Cornell University
ReligionBuddhist
Alias/AKAVK Leary
FatherFrancis Michael LEARY (1908-1992)
MotherGertrude E. SAUER (1907-1991)
Obituary notes for Michael Edmunds LEARY
January 8, 1943 - April 20, 2015
VK (Michael Edmunds) Leary was born to Captain Francis M. Leary and Gertrude E. (Sauer) Leary on January 8th, 1943 in San Francisco. He passed away peacefully in his tranquil mountainside home in Northern California on April 20th, 2015. VK is survived by his two sisters, Randy Kitzmann of New Paltz, NY and Jacie Leary of Etna, CA, as well as his two daughters, James Kidd of Los Angeles, CA and Jennifer Leary of Raleigh, NC.
VK grew up in the Sunset district in San Francisco, learning to swim at Sutro Baths and attending local public schools. He excelled in academics, especially in math, and was a National Merit Scholar. His athletic talents landed him spots on the George Washington High School basketball, swim and cross-country teams, although his interest in sports was overshadowed by his strong personal passion for playing music. Nonetheless, he was awarded the Al Catimon award for Outstanding Senior Athlete in Spring 1960.
VK went on to study Civil Engineering at U. C. Berkeley ('64). Here, he joined the marching band in order to fulfill his R.O.T.C. obligations. His love for other forms of music – especially folk songs – would continue throughout his life. VK's summer job during this period was as a crew member on a freighter travelling between the U.S. and Japan. He spent the long journey teaching himself to speed-read, rapidly finishing all of his books, and thoroughly enjoyed the scenery in Japan once the ship docked in Tokyo.
VK continued his studies with a graduate degree in City and Regional Planning from Cornell University ('68). He chose to research the harmful effects of urban noise on city dwellers, and was awarded the Best Submitted Masters Thesis in City & Regional Planning for the 1967-1968 academic year. Having spent some time living on a local communal farm, VK returned to California in search of a spiritual leader and encountered a charismatic teacher named Dr. Ajari. He joined the nascent community of followers and received the spiritual name Vimalakirti. Throughout the 1970's VK was an active member of Dr. Ajari's group. He wholeheartedly participated in the various practices: ascetic mountain climbing, observing the Goma fire ceremony, bonfires on Ocean Beach, fire walking, chanting the Heart Sutra, performing music, communal living in the Hondo on Potrero Hill, and helping to establish a furniture crafting business.
After 18 years with Dr. Ajari, VK struck off solo to pursue Tendai Buddhist teachings, independently carrying on with the practice of burning Goma and spending time learning Japanese. He opened Mountain Woodwork where he earned his livelihood as a custom furniture maker. For a time, he worked as a civilian engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers and also served as the Chief Engineer of the Santa Rosa Water Department.
He also enjoyed playing music weekly with his friends, where he performed saxophone, clarinet, upright bass, recorder, and piano. Following his divorce from wife Mary Lou in 1989, he returned to the country he had enjoyed visiting so much as a young ship-hand. VK moved to Kyoto, Japan in the mid-1990's, first studying the Japanese language at a local university and then going to live at a Tendai temple on the sacred site of Mt. Hiei. He lived in the monastery for five years and studied under Gozen-sama, was ordained as a priest in the order, and was given the name Keisho.
A couple of years after returning to San Francisco, he began building the California Tendai Buddhist Monastery on Cobb Mountain (CA). It was like coming full circle for him since the site was located close to where he had spent many summers as a child playing among the pine trees. In 2006 he started work on the goma-do which sat atop an outcrop on the mountain overlooking endless slopes of green pine trees. In 2010 after construction of the temple was completed, he organized a consecration ceremony officiated by the Tendai order in Japan. It was attended by many friends and Tendai practitioners from the U.S. and Japan.
Throughout the last five years for his life, VK continued to expand the California Tendai Buddhist Monastery, burn goma, practice kaihogyo, and give dharma teachings around the local Middletown / Calistoga region. He also took part in a yearly summer cultural exchange program on the island of Saipan. Each summer, several Buddhist priests accompanied a group of Japanese schoolchildren to visit key WWII sites on the island and release hundreds of paper lanterns into the Pacific Ocean as a peace prayer for those killed in the battles.
A memorial service will be held at Jodo Shinshu Center in Berkeley (2140 Durant Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94704 ph. 510-809-1460) on Sunday May 31st, 2015 starting at 2:00. A reception lasting until 4:30 will follow. The service will be led by Rev. Monshin Paul Naamon from the Tendai Buddhist Institute, and all are invited to join in celebrating his life.
VK's family wishes to thank his Fijian home health aides, Siteri Bond and Dan Rokobaleni, and the wonderful staff of Lake County Hospice Services.
Published in San Francisco Chronicle on May 24, 2015
Lake County Record Bee (Lakeport, CA) - Friday, May 22, 2015
VK (Michael Edmunds) Leary was born to Captain Francis M. Leary and Gertrude E. (Sauer) Leary on January 8th, 1943 in San Francisco. He passed away peacefully in his tranquil mountainside home in Northern California on April 20th, 2015. VK is survived by his two sisters, Randy Kitzmann of New Paltz, NY and Jacie Leary of Etna, CA, as well as his two daughters, James Kidd of Los Angeles, CA and Jennifer Leary of Raleigh, NC.
VK grew up in the Sunset district in San Francisco, learning to swim at Sutro Baths and attending local public schools. He excelled in academics, especially in math, and was a National Merit Scholar. His athletic talents landed him spots on the George Washington High School basketball, swim and cross-country teams, although his interest in sports was overshadowed by his strong personal passion for playing music. Nonetheless, he was awarded the Al Catimon award for Outstanding Senior Athlete in Spring 1960.
VK went on to study Civil Engineering at U. C. Berkeley ('64). Here, he joined the marching band in order to fulfill his R.O.T.C. obligations. His love for other forms of music – especially folk songs – would continue throughout his life. VK's summer job during this period was as a crew member on a freighter travelling between the U.S. and Japan. He spent the long journey teaching himself to speed-read, rapidly finishing all of his books, and thoroughly enjoyed the scenery in Japan once the ship docked in Tokyo.
VK continued his studies with a graduate degree in City and Regional Planning from Cornell University ('68). He chose to research the harmful effects of urban noise on city dwellers, and was awarded the Best Submitted Masters Thesis in City & Regional Planning for the 1967-1968 academic year. Having spent some time living on a local communal farm, VK returned to California in search of a spiritual leader and encountered a charismatic teacher named Dr. Ajari. He joined the nascent community of followers and received the spiritual name Vimalakirti. Throughout the 1970's VK was an active member of Dr. Ajari's group. He wholeheartedly participated in the various practices: ascetic mountain climbing, observing the Goma fire ceremony, bonfires on Ocean Beach, fire walking, chanting the Heart Sutra, performing music, communal living in the Hondo on Potrero Hill, and helping to establish a furniture crafting business.
After 18 years with Dr. Ajari, VK struck off solo to pursue Tendai Buddhist teachings, independently carrying on with the practice of burning Goma and spending time learning Japanese. He opened Mountain Woodwork where he earned his livelihood as a custom furniture maker. For a time, he worked as a civilian engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers and also served as the Chief Engineer of the Santa Rosa Water Department.
He also enjoyed playing music weekly with his friends, where he performed saxophone, clarinet, upright bass, recorder, and piano. Following his divorce from wife Mary Lou in 1989, he returned to the country he had enjoyed visiting so much as a young ship-hand. VK moved to Kyoto, Japan in the mid-1990's, first studying the Japanese language at a local university and then going to live at a Tendai temple on the sacred site of Mt. Hiei. He lived in the monastery for five years and studied under Gozen-sama, was ordained as a priest in the order, and was given the name Keisho.
A couple of years after returning to San Francisco, he began building the California Tendai Buddhist Monastery on Cobb Mountain (CA). It was like coming full circle for him since the site was located close to where he had spent many summers as a child playing among the pine trees. In 2006 he started work on the goma-do which sat atop an outcrop on the mountain overlooking endless slopes of green pine trees. In 2010 after construction of the temple was completed, he organized a consecration ceremony officiated by the Tendai order in Japan. It was attended by many friends and Tendai practitioners from the U.S. and Japan.
Throughout the last five years for his life, VK continued to expand the California Tendai Buddhist Monastery, burn goma, practice kaihogyo, and give dharma teachings around the local Middletown / Calistoga region. He also took part in a yearly summer cultural exchange program on the island of Saipan. Each summer, several Buddhist priests accompanied a group of Japanese schoolchildren to visit key WWII sites on the island and release hundreds of paper lanterns into the Pacific Ocean as a peace prayer for those killed in the battles.
A memorial service will be held at Jodo Shinshu Center in Berkeley (2140 Durant Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94704 ph. 510-809-1460) on Sunday May 31st, 2015 starting at 2:00. A reception lasting until 4:30 will follow. The service will be led by Rev. Monshin Paul Naamon from the Tendai Buddhist Institute, and all are invited to join in celebrating his life.
VK's family wishes to thank his Fijian home health aides, Siteri Bond and Dan Rokobaleni, and the wonderful staff of Lake County Hospice Services.
Published in San Francisco Chronicle on May 24, 2015
Lake County Record Bee (Lakeport, CA) - Friday, May 22, 2015