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Fred Leonard, Rowing

caption:Fred Leonard

Fred William Leonard, a longtime rowing coach for the University of Pennsylvania and former national champion rower, died on August 29. He was 88 years old.

Mr. Leonard earned a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University in 1952. He spent two years serving in the U.S. Army, including a year in Korea in a M*A*S*H unit in the DMZ as a sergeant. He then began a career in the insurance business which lasted for more than 50 years. Leonard Insurance Group became the world’s largest provider of shell insurance for rowers in the United States.

Mr. Leonard coached rowing at the Haverford School before joining Penn, where he served as lightweight rowing coach from 1964-1991. During his time with the Quakers, he accumulated a 109-81 overall record in cup races, including undefeated finishes in four straight seasons from 1975-1978. Additionally, the Penn Lightweight Rowing Varsity Eight won the EARC Sprints Championship in 1976 and the Varsity Four won the IRA Regatta national championships in 1982.

In 2016, the Fred W. Leonard Men’s Lightweight Rowing Head Coach Endowment Fund was created, with more than 50 former oarsmen raising more than $1 million for the position in honor of Mr. Leonard.

Mr. Leonard was a member of the Undine Barge Club for more than 70 years and held many offices there.

He is survived by his wife, Vivian; sons, John F. (Anne) and Paul G.; a sister, Ruth Leslie; sister-in-law, Ramona Leonard and four grandchildren, Jessica Kramer, Daniel, Timothy and Thomas Leonard.

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