Harry M. Leister, Jr. — a tribute to my dad

Dad was born on Saint Patrick's Day in 1933 — in the middle of the Great Depression. He described his family as "salt-of-the-earth" and "frugal," living on a small dairy farm in rural Juniata County, PA. He and his 4 younger sisters learned self-discipline, sacrifice, hard work, and honesty.

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Dad attended a one-room schoolhouse and with the help of a teacher, he discovered a knack for math in 8th grade. After graduating high school in 1951, Dad worked on the family farm for a year. Then he found a way to begin college at Susquehanna University, where he majored in accounting. Dad was a full-time student and simultaneously worked full-time (overnight shift) in Selinsgrove PA to pay his way through college.

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During a Sunday afternoon baseball game in June of 1952, he met my mom (Sue Landis). He was smitten and 7 months later they were married. She was 16 and he was 19.

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Toward the end of his college years, he discovered the little-known profession of actuarial science and he embarked on a career as an actuary. This required passing a series of 10 exams involving many years of study. He eventually worked for two insurance companies in Hartford CT and Albany NY. In 1968 he accepted a job offer at a small actuarial firm founded in Harrisburg PA. So we moved from New York to central PA, closer to mom and dad's parents, siblings, and roots. He became a partner of the firm after 9 months and continued in the profession until retiring at the age of 82, after 47 years of service. His specialty was providing "expert witness testimony" requiring complicated life-expectancy calculations. He testified in court hundreds of times over the years.

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In his early 40's, his life changed when he attended a Dale Carnegie course that revealed and spotlighted a core set of values, which he lived by for the rest of his life. These included: caring about other people’s interests and perspectives, having a genuine smile and optimistic attitude, listening intently and encouraging others to talk about themselves, avoiding the counterproductivity of criticism and condemnation, and praising people’s efforts or achievements to foster goodwill and motivate. If you knew my dad, you'll remember him embodying those concepts every day.

 

Dad liked to call Mom "Mrs L" and they were married for 65 years before she succumbed to a rare form of leukemia in 2018. Mom and Dad had 4 kids, all quite different. He always encouraged each of us to find a career where we would be happy. All four of us graduated from college.

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​Dad was the model grandparent; spending meaningful time with his grand children — he did not sit them in front of a TV or computer. He was engaged with them. In return, my children reciprocated that attention, especially during the last years of his life. My son and his wife would visit him every Thursday evening. My daughter would visit him anytime she was in town.

Up until 5 weeks before his death, Dad was in good health, working out 5 days a week at a local gym with no major medical issues. He took fitness earnestly, playing racquetball for over 40 years and, in his younger years, would jog along Front Street in Harrisburg PA, next to the Susquehanna River.
 

My dad lived to be 91 and was the embodiment of positivity and charm. Near the end, just before being rolled into his 3rd abdominal surgery — after being run-down for weeks in hospital — the surgeon asked if he had any concerns before receiving anesthesia. He replied, “Just don’t mess up my hair." After 5 weeks in 3 different hospitals, he came home and, while lying in the hospice bed looking out the window at the deer, the sunshine, and the family pictures on his wall, he said to me, "Frank, this is one of the best days of my life."

Dad was my biggest fan, watching me grow from a starving artist cocktail piano player to become the founder of a successful software company. How lucky I was to have my father witness the entire arc of my career. To his final days, he expressed boundless pride in me and my family. I used to say Dad was on my “virtual board of directors” because I could always bounce ideas off him.

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Dad is a very large part of me — who I became, and who I remain.

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-Frank Leister, Father's Day 2025

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PS. On my YouTube channel, I posted a video tribute with original music. It's located here. (Note: YouTube may show ads in the video.)