Kern County CA Obituary Project Obituaries.....McLeod, Garland "Gar" Earl February 19, 2005
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
K T bluewolf@onemain.com February 23, 2005, 12:05 pm

The Bakersfield Californian 
Garland "Gar" Earl McLeod
May 7, 1935 - Feb. 19, 2005

Visitation for Gar McLeod will be held in the Basham Funeral Care Chapel (3312 
Niles St.) on Thursday, February 24, 2005, from 5:00 8:00 p.m. and funeral 
services will be held at Olive Knolls Church of the Nazarene (6201 Fruitvale 
Ave.) on Friday, February 25, 2005 at 3:00 p.m. Interment services will be 
private. 

Gar passed away peacefully on Saturday, February 19th, surrounded by his 
dearly loved family. With his passing, many in Bakersfield, Buttonwillow and 
the nearby communities have felt a great loss. Gar has been a prominent figure 
in local sports and farming for over 45 years.

Gar was born on May 7, 1935, in Lake Odessa, Michigan to Rex and Beulah 
McLeod. As a boy, Gar loved sports, especially baseball. His team won the 
Michigan State Championship in 1953, when he was a senior in high school. The 
next year, Gar joined the U.S. Army and was stationed in Germany. His marching 
days were numbered however, for when the division found out how good he was at 
baseball, he was assigned to the Army traveling team and he spent the rest of 
his military duty playing exhibition baseball games around Europe and the 
United States.

In 1959, after leaving the service, Gar was drafted by the Philadelphia 
Phillies. He was sent to their famous AAA farm team, the Bakersfield Bears. 
While he was a semi-pro baseball player in Bakersfield, he met his future 
bride, Barbara Goodspeed. The two were soon married and settled in 
Buttonwillow, where Gar gave up baseball to farm cotton with Barbaras father, 
E.L. 'Speed' Goodspeed.

In Buttonwillow, Gar established a reputation in the two areas that would 
characterize the rest of his life. The first was his infectious sense of 
humor . . . wherever he was, Gar was the life of the party, making everyone 
laugh and feel comfortable. The second was investing his time and passion for 
baseball into coaching young athletes. Gar would go on to coach for 19 years, 
first in Buttonwillow and later in Bakersfield, bringing out talent and 
character in many young people who would later become leaders in the 
community. At the same time, Gar passed on his love of sports to his own 
children who each received the Outstanding Senior Athlete award at East High 
School and went on to play college sports and later coach in their own 
communities. He also enjoyed the thrill of seeing his son Rick drafted into 
the NFL.

Gar is preceded in death by his father, Rex, and he is survived by his mother, 
Beulah; his devoted wife of 45 years, Barbara; their son Mike, daughter-in-law 
Kari, and their children Kodi and Garrett; his daughter Laurie, son-in-law Jim 
Freitas and their daughters Jessica, Hannah, Katie and Kimberly; his son Rick, 
daughter-in-law Sheila and their daughters Alexus and Audra. He is also 
survived by his sister Von and her husband Carl Beach, her son Randy and wife 
Marvina; and by his sister-in-law Sheri and her husband Richard Houston and 
her sons Mike and Vinny; his brother-in-law Fred Goodspeed, his wife Linda, 
their sons Greg, Brent and Jeff.

Gars battle with diabetes began many years ago, but the prayers and love of 
family and friends prolonged his life and reduced his pain. The family would 
like to especially thank Dr. Adam Klang and the providers at Highgrove Medical 
Group and San Joaquin Community Hospital for their compassionate care. In lieu 
of flowers, please consider a donation to the American Heart Association. For 
additional service information, please contact Basham Funeral Care 873-8200.


Basham Funeral Care 


Additional Comments:
Volunteer submission - No relation to deceased.

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