Thomas James MCLEOD

Father: Brenton Archibald MCLEOD
Mother: Frances Dorothy WATTLES

Family 1: Barbara Joann FRANCIS
  1. Joseph Michael MCLEOD
  2. Jeffery Thomas MCLEOD
  3. Patricia Louise MCLEOD
  4. Lisa Ann MCLEOD
  5. Scott Richard MCLEOD
  6. William John MCLEOD
  7. Robert Anthony MCLEOD
  8. Thomas James MCLEOD 
                                                                               _Alexander MACLEOD _
                                                           _Archibald MCLEOD _|_Ann FRASER ________
                             _Archibald Alexander MCLEOD _|
                            |                             |                    ____________________
                            |                             |_Annie HENRY ______|____________________
 _Brenton Archibald MCLEOD _|
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|                           |_Esther Ann ROGERS __________|
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|--Thomas James MCLEOD 
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|_Frances Dorothy WATTLES __|
                            |                                                  ____________________
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                            |_____________________________|
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INDEX

Notes

!SOURCE: This is a biography written by their son Scott Richard McLeod, smcleod@@landoflakes.com, from memories. Thomas and Barbara are, by the accounts of almost everyone that ever met them, two extraordinary people. They are personable, friendly, and genuinely caring people. Not only to their family, but to friends and strangers alike. Thomas was educated at the College of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, and received a law degree from William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota. He had five children with his wife Barbara by the time he graduated from William Mitchell. Thomas was active in his local catholic church, Immaculate Heart of Mary. He was a member of the 4th degree of the Knights of Columbus. The deep catholic faith of Thomas and Barbara was the guiding force in their life. Thomas was politically active throughout his entire life. But in his youth, he was active at the campaign level. He worked countless hours and enlisted the help of his children as a volunteers for Joe O' Neil, a successful Minnesota State Senator in the 1970's. Thomas worked his entire professional career, 39 years, at West Publishing in St. Paul, Minnesota. West Publishing was a privately held publisher, primarily of law books, and a computer based legal reference system called `Westlaw'. Thomas began his career at the bottom and worked his way up through many departments like accounting and marketing. He retired from West Publishing as a Senior Vice President when the company was purchased by Thompson Publishing in 1996. In business, I have discovered that only a select few people can successfully lead at the corporate level. This was a quality that Tom not only possessed, but a quality others recognized, or he would never have reached the level he did. In this same time, Barbara stayed at home to raise their eight children. This was no small task. Yet even with a large family, she always seemed to make an abundance of one-on-one time for me and my siblings. As a young boy, she would read from books to me at bed time. I have many memories of shopping with with her for clothes and other things. And these are just my memories. Im sure my other siblings share the same types of memories. She certainly had her hands full. When all the children had grown and become independent, Barbara started working away from the home. She worked as counselor at a weight loss clinic, and an administrative receptionist at a doctors office. After retiring from West Publishing in 1996, Thomas and his wife Barbara pursued a number of personal, business and charitable interests together. With all of their children finally moved out of the house, it was the first time since 1957, almost 40 years, that they could focus their lives on their own interests and each other. I cannot speak to my siblings, but this was a difficult adjustment for me. For 30 years they had been at my beck and call. Suddenly, they were very busy and difficult to get together with. Like all my siblings I suppose, I learned to adapt to their new needs. And they continued to try to spend personal and private time with me and my family as often as possible. Barbara and Thomas dedicated not only financial support to charities, but a significant amount of his personal time as well. Thomas used his substantial business and political contacts, to act as a fund raiser for the HealthEast Foundation, Cretin High School, and others. Together they also worked as volunteers in a hospice center for many years. I also began to understand the scope of their charitable interests, even though they rarely discussed it. But small clues helped me understand the depth and range of their giving. Their giving back to the community, in time and money, was not for personal acclaim. Though financially successful, money was never a driving force in Thomas and Barbara's life. They are the original authors of a notable family quote; "Wealth can open many doors, but the key to heaven is charity". Thomas and Barb do however, leave a material legacy in the form of Brentwood, a beautiful vacation property on Big Chippawa Lake in Alexandria Minnesota. The property is a wonderful blend of nature and modern convenience. Brentwood is named after Thomas's father, Brenton Archibald McLeod. Thomas and Barbara built this property up from scratch and lived in the area almost exclusively in the summers after 1994, when the development began. The property included guest accommodations for his family and special invited friends.

Created by Sparrowhawk 1.0 (4/17/1996) on Mon Apr 2 10:49:07 2001