George Wood Leese, age 73 of Harrison, Arkansas passed away Wednesday, November 4, 2015 in Harrison.

The son of Christopher and Rita (Kirkhart) Leese was born on July 19, 1942 in Cleveland, Ohio.

George served his country in the United States Army and took part in the Vietnam War. He and his wife, Ume, moved to Harrison from Phoenix, Arizona in 1994, where he retired as a Major in the Phoenix Police Department and a Chief Deputy in the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. He had also served as a past president of the Boone County Republican Committee from 1998 to 2000. He enjoyed riding motorcycles, was a lifelong car enthusiast, enjoyed visiting the shooting range and was skilled in martial arts, earning a 3rd degree black belt in Shotokan Karate.

George was a devoted husband and loved spending time with his wife. He was always interested in learning and becoming involved in new things that would benefit his friends and was always a good source of advice for anybody that needed it.

He was preceded in death by his parents.

He is survived by his wife, Ume (Matsu) Leese of Harrison; two children, Diane Wilhelm and husband Patrick of Smithville, Missouri and Dirk Leese of Harrison; one brother, Christopher Leese of Phoenix, Arizona; a sister, Tina Leese of Phoenix, Arizona; and 3 grandchildren.

A memorial visitation will be held Sunday, November 8, 2015 from 2:00 to 3:00 pm at Coffman Funeral Home of Harrison.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in George's honor to the Wounded Warrior Project, PO Box 758517, Topeka, Kansas, 66675.

Online condolences may be left at www.coffmanfh.com.