Arthur J. Leary

Arthur J. Leary, 73, of Bedford died February 12, 2005 at Catholic Medical Center after a period of failing health.

Born in Worcester, MA on September 10, 1931, he was the son of Arthur and Margaret (Cleary) Leary Sr.. He grew up in Belmont, MA and lived in Bedford, MA for 15 years before moving to Bedford in 1972.

He earned a bachelor's degree from Boston College in 1953. During the Korean War he served in the US Army in Germany.

Mr. Leary worked as a claims manager at Commercial Union Insurance Company for 39 years. He was a member of the Adjustors Association and the Claims Managers Association. He was a communicant of St. Elizabeth Seton Church in Bedford.

He was predeceased by a son, William M. Leary in 2002.

The family includes his wife of 49 years, Nancy E. (Penney) Leary of Bedford; two daughters, Ann Marie Kelly of Southampton, MA and Mary Beth Purcell of Bedford; two sons, James A. Leary of Weare and Thomas P. Leary of Manchester; 11 grandchildren; a sister, Mary P. Crory of Littleton, MA; one niece and seven nephews.

A mass of Christian burial was celebrated Wednesday February 16, 2005 in St. Elizabeth Seton Church, 190 Meetinghouse Rd., Bedford. Committal prayers followed in the Shaw Chapel at St. Joseph Cemetery, 448 Donald St., Bedford. Burial was in St. Joseph Cemetery.

Memorial donations may be made to the American Heart Association, 2 Wall St., Manchester 03101, or to the American Cancer Society, 360 Rte. 101, Suite 501, Bedford 03110.