Family Case Study

The utility of a Family Home and the reality of the family being the basic unit of the economy comes clear in this history. It is my history and it comes from what I consider a privileged background, but the lessons of self-reliance and family responsibility apply to all income groups. I learned how to overcome setbacks and develop an attitude of gratefulness from my family. They taught me the American Spirit.

My maternal grandfather was Leo B. Couch MD, who married Maybell Sweeney in 1907.  They bought a large home in Maplewood, a close suburb of St. Louis Mo. They had 12 children born from 1911 to 1932, beginning with Leo in 1911 and Winford in 1912.  My mother Dina their 3^rd child was born in 1915. Leo and Winford died in World War II. I spent a lot of time with my 6 uncles and 3 aunts.

My paternal grandfather was Frank Leahy (Executive & Investor) who married Margaret Stack, They had 7 children, 4 boys, Frank Jr., John, James and Joe and 3 girls, Marion, Virginia and Margaret. Grandpa Leahy was a Chemist and so were most of his boys. He had been President and owner of several Chemical companies and was a majority share-holder. We called him “Daddy War Bucks”. I remember going to Grandpa Leahy’s for Christmas parties and my brother remembered going to their Lake Lodge on weekends.

My parents, Joe Leahy and Dina Couch married in 1935 and my brother Bob was born in 1937. They bought a home in Shrewsbury near the Couch House. I was born in 1943 and spent a lot of time with my remaining 6 uncles and 3 aunts. My dad owned 13 filling stations and served as the Night Superintendent of the local munitions plant during World War II.

On the Couch side, my 3 youngest uncles, Carl, Billy and Francis contracted muscular atrophy in their 20s and didn’t marry but remained in the family home. My Aunt Ilean and uncle Bob were well, but didn’t marry. They stayed home to take care of the family. They invested in a 4 unit apartment and the large home next door and modified it to rent to 2 families to provide future income.

My Physician grandfather Couch died in 1962, grandma Couch died in 1969 and the family was financially secure.  Aunt Ilean took care of her disabled brothers and her widowed aunt Marian until their deaths in the 1970s and 1980s. Aunt Ilean died in 1993 age 75. My mom died in 1998 age 83.

Aunt Ilean had continued the Couch Family traditions. Every Sunday we gathered at the family home for a roast beef dinner at 1pm. At 3pm one or more Priests would arrive to play bridge with grandpa Couch, my mom and my older uncles.

In my early years, I would play Monopoly with my younger uncles or set up the big electric train to deliver drinks I mixed in the pantry and sent through the dining room to the living room to deliver drinks to the bridge players.

My younger uncles Billy and Carl would do the dishes and listen to the Cardinal Baseball games on the radio. My Aunt Ilean and I made the Christmas cookies.

In the evening, grandma would watch Liberace on TV and listen to Voice of Firestone classical music on the radio. She was an opera singer grandpa met at the 1904 Worlds’ Fair.

I also listened to radio shows like “Fibber McGee and Molly” and “The Shadow”. My first memory was standing in front of the radio at age 2 in 1945 with the entire family gathered around and hearing that we had won the war in Europe.

My second youngest uncle Billy was a musical prodigy and played piano by ear. After Christmas Midnight Mass we would gather around the piano and sing until 3am.

Uncle Billy taught me to play piano when I was age 4. I found a bugle in a window seat and taught myself how to play it when I was age 8. I got a trumpet at age 10 and a guitar at age 11. I started a Band at age 14. I played music until age 32.

My grandpa Couch played guitar and sang ditties from the 1890s. His chair was to the left of the fireplace and my chair was on the right. He would bring grandma Couch a box of cigars every week and she thanked him pretending they were hers. When I was a toddler, I would leap on to grandpa’s lap to get a kiss. He asked if I had gotten my spanking and I said no. He would flip me over and spank his own hand. His humor was endless. We played golf in the back yard. We made root beer. He showed us different elements in rocks. I accompanied him to visit his mother every week.

Despite losing 2 boys in the war and having 3 uncles disabled, the Couch family was a happy group with strong faith, great humor and a sense of gratefulness. This resilience defined my values permanently.

When I was born, we lived St. Louis. When I was age 2, in 1945 we moved to Hallettsville Texas, so my dad could get a Masters’ Degree in Cotton Research Technology at Texas A&M. He joined Volkart Brothers in 1946 and we moved to Providence Rhode Island to set up a lab then Memphis Tennessee in 1948. My dad was promoted to VP R&D and we moved to Queens New York in 1949. In 1951, my dad was promoted again to be Managing Director in Brussels Belgium. My mom and brother and I moved back to St. Louis in 1951.   My parents divorced in 1953

We had visited St. Louis every year during our 6 years living away from home. We enjoyed our time away from home, but always considered St. Louis as home.

We moved to the family owned apartment in 1951 and bought a house across the street from the Couch House in 1956. I finished grade school at Immaculate Conception School like my mom, my aunts and my uncles.

My brother Bob and I were able to attend the “family schools”. All the boys in the Couch and Leahy families had attended Christian Brothers College and St. Louis University.

My brother Bob worked at McDonnell Douglas for 35 years. He followed Grandpa Leahy’s interests and began investing in 1957. He called me in 1995 and said he was going to take the early retirement plan because he had become a “Financial Maggot” and he wanted to turn his $3 million portfolio to $7 million. He did, but he died at age 65 from a fall in 2002. I got to live next door to my brother Bob, his wife Shirley and their 4 kids from 1966 to 1975. We put gardens and fruit trees in our back yards. We had a lot of fun hosting family gatherings with aunts, uncles and cousins.

Marlene Johannes and I were married on August 15, 1964, on the feast of the Assumption at Assumption Parish. We also made many assumptions about marriage.

We met in 1962 through mutual friends. I needed a date for a class reunion and Marlene agreed to go. We decided to clear our calendars for more time together. 

After that my Sundays included parties at the Johannes Family Home with a roast beef and pork dinner followed by a pinochle game. The Johannes house was full of fun, humor and music.

Marlene had 2 younger brothers and 1 younger sister. Humor ruled. They played and sang in the Family Band. Ken played accordion, Vern played guitar and Janet sang. I played guitar and bass and anything else that was available.

Marlene’s Dad owned a strip mall next to his house and walked to work every day. He had a barber shop, implement sharpening, shoe repair and filling station on Highway 21 in Mehlville in South St Louis County.

Marlene and I and our 6 kids moved to Salina KS in 1975, but visited St. Louis every year to see family. We moved to Atlanta in 1983 and continued our St. Louis visits.

We held our 50^th Wedding Anniversary party in St. Louis in 2014 and drove our gang up in rented a 15 passenger van. Others drove and flew. I played bass and sang at this party with the Johannes Family Band. Our families had music and humor in common.

In Atlanta, as our kids grew up, got married and moved to their own houses between 1989 and 2002, we became the “Family Home”. We hosted holiday parties, Sunday visits and provided shelter when needed.

We don’t visit St. Louis as often, but we stay in close touch.

We are grateful for our families and our times growing up and living in St. Louis. We are blessed. Although we came from privileged backgrounds, we were self-made.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader