Joe’s Tribute

Six people spoke at Leigh’s memorial service, four family members and two from outside the family. We felt that these would be the six people Leigh would want to speak for her, but also that this would give the best picture of what Leigh’s life had been. One of the “outsiders” who spoke was Joe Lion, one of Leigh’s former runners. Of course that’s an understatement – Joe was a very special runner to Leigh and to all our family. Joe was one of those students at Watauga High who first tried other sports without success (wrestling in this case) and ended up becoming one of the greatest high school runners in NC history, one of two runners coached by Leigh to earn All-American recognition. Joe’s mother died while he was a sophomore in high school, and his relationship with Leigh became much more than just student to coach. I’m going to offer a few excerpts from Joe’s speech here, as I think he captured the essence of Leigh’s impact better than any of us who spoke.

“My name is Joe Lion. Leigh was my running coach at Watauga High from 1994 to 1998, and my trusted friend and mentor since then. Given a task as daunting as writing something for a person like Leigh, the first thing I did was reach out to some friends and teammates for their thoughts. I’d like to start by sharing these quotes from them that should give an idea of the kinds of personal impacts Leigh made, in this case on her runners.

From Addie Bower: ‘When the guys cross country team won State in 1994, Leigh had literally changed those awkward, goofy guys into warriors. Leigh made ordinary people become extraordinary.’

Britt Marlowe: ‘She came into my life and completely changed who I was. Leigh was the soul of the Watauga cross country program.’

Jesse Pipes: ‘Leigh saw more in me than I ever saw in myself. She was the whole reason I ran. I was defeated after getting cut from the basketball team, then the baseball team. Leigh invited me to run, and I’ve never stopped.’

Ryan Woods: ‘She turned our team into a family.’

Ethan Dobson: ‘Leigh literally made my dreams come true. Watauga cross country and track is more than a team – it’s a community. And Leigh was the architect and mayor of that community.’

Marina Chase Carreker: ‘Leigh’s belief in our potential was such a strong force. Leigh believed we could be great, and she had the knowledge, the energy and the inspiration that allowed us to achieve on a far greater level than we ever could have otherwise.’

And finally, Jay Marlowe: ‘Leigh’s commitment to us clearly went beyond the track, trails and pavement. She lives on in the spirit of all of us. My one-year old son, though never meeting Leigh, has been enriched and nurtured by her, through me.’

(Joe’s speech continues)

Watching the slide show in the auditorium last night and seeing the amount of people here of all ages and walks of life reminded me that no matter how well you thought you knew Leigh or whatever activity you knew her best for, you can be sure that she was simultaneously doing 10 other things you were not aware of. . . . Some of us knew her as an Appalachian State runner and captain, some as the Watauga High School cross country, track, or lacrosse coach; many as a Health and PE teacher; some as a hard-nosed spin class instructor; and even more as a tireless community leader, spokesman and women’s safety advocate. Regardless of how we knew Leigh, she was a dominating and powerful force in our lives and our communities, but I believe the most special thing about her was her ability to make one-to-one personal connections. I don’t know where she found the time or energy to make all these connections, but she could probably go through this whole room one person at a time and recall from memory your 5K personal record, or how many goals you scored in your last game, or your latest health test grade, or the last time you skipped out on spin class. . . . Because of all this knowledge, I believe, she had an uncanny ability to see untapped potential, then predict and guide future success in people. In running, at least, she would set season-long goals for each of us that often turned out to be surprisingly accurate. And even if we missed her goals, she remained steadfast in her confidence in us. Her expertise was in steadily guiding us towards those goals, through training, lifestyle decisions, inspiration, and motivation. Some of the most powerful memories I have of Leigh are from the fleeting seconds I would see her on the sidelines as I raced by, and the excitement in her face, and exactly how high she was jumping told me everything I needed to know about how the race was going. Her words of encouragement and advice were invaluable in races all the way from 400 meters to 6 miles and beyond, even when they were simple things like: ‘chin down, eyes up’ – ‘relax your shoulders, shake your arms out’ – ‘give me 3 quick strides’ – ‘stay on this guys heels’ – ‘you guys have got this one.’

I’ve never been in a spin class or on a lacrosse field with her, or taken a test in her Health class, but I know she was as equally committed to internalizing, analyzing and evaluating exactly what it takes to make whomever she was guiding great in all of those areas. I was talking with a colleague at work earlier this week, trying to describe who Leigh was and what she meant to me. I told him that Leigh was one of the two most influential people in my life, and he replied ‘wait until you have a 2-year old.’ Not having a child of my own yet, I guess I am in no position to argue. But I thought about that some more, and realized that the influential people in your life can broadly be broken down into two groups: those who show and teach you how to become an adult – often parents, teachers or coaches; and those that show you how to be an adult – usually your own children. We know that Leigh filled the role of teacher and mentor for so many of us over the years as we were, or still are for many of you here, in those critical development years. However, until my colleague mentioned his own daughter, I had never taken the time to fully contemplate or appreciate how Leigh became the woman she ultimately was. I already knew that she grew up as a smart and talented girl in a strong family, and that she had already overcome unbelievable odds just to escape with her life as a sophomore in college. But I now realize that the single largest factor of what made Leigh who she was, was probably becoming a mother to her boy, Jake, and her girl, Haleigh. By the time I met Leigh when she was 24 with a small boy, she was unbelievably mature and well put together, at least from my perspective as a 14-year old. I have to believe that being a young mother motivated Leigh to improve the world around her in whatever ways she felt were possible, and my goodness, she found a lot of ways. Fortunately for the rest of us, we, along with her children, are the benefactors of that decision.

The following is from a letter Leigh wrote in May 1997 at the end of my junior year in high school, one year after I lost my own mother:

‘And following the death of his mother during these critical, early-teenage years, Joe could have easily decided that fate had dealt him a bad hand. He could have understandably taken a wrong turn in life. Instead, he seemed do get stronger, better and even more determined to succeed in all areas of his life. I truly believe Joe has handled this tragedy so well because of the way his mother raised him. And though her time on earth with her son was way too short, she undoubtedly used that time to its fullest. I can only wish that I am able to instill the values in my son that she so effectively instilled in Joe.’

. . . . I can see that Leigh has also used her time to its fullest and has certainly succeeded in instilling those values in you (Jake and Haleigh). And while she undoubtedly had many more lessons to teach and stories to tell, she and your dad have already laid the foundation of values and morals from which you can draw upon for the rest of your life. Your mom did her job, and she did it masterfully, and now it’s your privilege and opportunity to continue her proud legacy. I love you Wallaces; I love you Coopers, and I love you Leigh.”

And we love you, Joe, and are proud of what you have become.