David William Leonard, 91, of Blacksburg, died Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. He was born in Johnson City, Tennessee on April 18, 1933 to Leroy Leonard and Opal Flora Hutchison.
Leonard graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1956 with a Bachelor of Science in Building Design, followed by a Master of Architecture in 1957. He was a member of the Corps of Cadets.
Leonard moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts to work in the department of internationally renowned Harvard Architect Josep Lluis Sert at Sert, Jackson, and Courley Architects. From 1958-1963, Leonard was Project Manager on Le Corbusier’s Visual Arts Center at Harvard, Addition to Fogg Art Museum, Harvard Health Center, New England Gas & Electric Building, Harvard World Religion Center, Bagdad Embassy.
In 1961, Leonard received a Master in Architecture from Harvard University.
Leonard moved back to Tennessee and established David Leonard Associates, a private design firm in Kingsport, Tennessee in 1965. For the next 35 years, his practice was focused on state, university and medical projects across the state, including the Charles C. Sherrod Library and Basler Center for Physical Activity on East Tennessee State University’s campus.
He was married to Mary Ann Price (deceased) with whom he had one son, Leroy Leonard, born in 1972. In 1996, Leonard met and married his soulmate, Kathleen Curtis Wilson. Their blended family included her two children, Amber Haskett and Mark Haskett, and his son Leroy. He was a devoted grandfather to six grandchildren. He is survived by a brother, Leland Leonard, sister-in-law Connie, and nieces and nephews.
Leonard and Wilson move to California in 2001 after Anshen and Allen Architecture Company, San Francisco, hired him to work on a Stanford University Medical Center. He retired in 2009.
As a dedicated long-distance bicycle rider, Leonard cycled across the United States and in France. He continued bicycling well into his eighties. After retiring, Leonard began painting seriously, taking numerous classes in abstract art. The couple traveled abroad frequently.
A gathering of friends and family will be scheduled in the spring.
