Link to Obituary and Services
On April 12th, 2026, a beautiful soul passed from this life into the arms of his Lord and Savior with family and friends at his bedside.
Harold “Lea” Greenleaf was born on August 25, 1949, in Greensboro, North Carolina and was immediately adopted by Harold Elmer Greenleaf and Edna Earl Virginia Seawell Greenleaf. He spent his formative years in Greensboro excelling in school and playing football and hockey. He loved all sports and was an avid OU fan attending football games for many years. Lea worked for the United States Postal Service in Atlanta, Georgia and in 1975 transferred to Norman to teach at the Postal Training Center. He loved Norman and Oklahoma and chose to make it his home for the rest of his life. Lea spent his life caring for others. He became a paramedic in Atlanta and continued his Paramedic service in Norman for fourteen years, caring for the sick and injured with expertise and compassion. Before his retirement in 2008 he served as Quality Contral Safety Manager at Tinker Air Force Base.
Lea was a lifetime member of the NRA and Tri City Gun Club. He opened a company called Oklahoma Safe Shooting, where he taught responsible gun ownership to a great number of people. He was an excellent gunsmith and repaired guns as well as working to restore and determine the value of antique firearms.
One of Lea’s passions was HAM radios. He was an active member of SCARS (South Canadian Amateur Radio Society). He developed and made antennas, worked to program radios for himself and others and spent hours communicating with people all over the world. He felt “it made the world a smaller place.” This passion led him to becoming involved with the development of the new Emergency Operations Center in Norman. It is a state-of-the-art facility, and he designed the area devoted to HAM communications at the center. He served as Auxiliary Communications Coordinator and became one of the founding members of the new EOC team.
Lea loved his community and served on the City Public Safety Sales Tax Oversight Committee for many years, contributing richly to ensure the appropriate distribution of funding for the citizens of Norman. He also loved his country and was a true Patriot of the United States of America.
Lea was a man of many talents. He had a brilliant mind and read technical manuals with the same enthusiasm as one reads a novel. With all his zest for life, Lea’s single most joy in life was his family. He met Joan in 1977, and they became devoted friends until they married in 1991. He Loved Joan and her two children, Rob and Jennifer, with a deep commitment to their happiness until the day he died. He will be greatly missed and fondly remembered by all who knew him, especially his loving family.
Lea was preceded in death by his parents.
He is survived by his wife, Joan. Rob (Lori) and Jennifer (David); grandchildren, Kate, Bo (Maddie) and Meg of Norman, Lily and Piper of Houston, and great-grandson, Hunter of Norman.
Lea’s charities of choice are St. Thomas More Catholic Church (Norman) and Wounded Warriors.
Services will be visitation at Havenbrook, Monday, May 4th from 5-8Pm and Mass at St. Thomas More, May 5th at 10am.
Tri-City Gun Club