Colonel Edward Patrick Leonard, Jr., eldest son of Edward P. Leonard, Sr. and Mary McLaughlin Leonard, was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut on February 18, 1928 and died on October 10, 2017 in Sandwich, Massachusetts. He graduated from Blessed Sacrament School and attended Warren Harding High School in Bridgeport before enlisting in the U. S. Marine Corps at the age of seventeen. He served with the First Marine Div. in Tientsin, North China after the war ended, then became a fur trapper in Alaska where he also worked for the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers before being recalled to the Marine Corps when war broke out in Korea. After his second discharge he earned his commercial pilot's license and worked for a time as a private pilot. In 1953 he joined the Connecticut State Police and worked his way up through the ranks to eventually, in 1975, be appointed Commissioner of State Police and State Fire Marshall for Connecticut. He was most proud of his accomplishments in that department. He found joy in camping throughout the United States and traveling the world, especially Ireland, with his family. He was predeceased by his beloved wife of forty-nine years, Marilyn McAndrew Leonard, and siblings: Rosemary Percell, Hubert 'Buddy', and Joan Leonard. His surviving family includes: Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Leonard (Sandra), Ms. Coleen Leonard, Mr. Christopher Leonard, Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Leonard (Deborah), Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Leonard (Cali), and Mr. Matthew Leonard; also three sisters: Mrs. Patricia Plumb Pia (Mario), Mrs. Luanne Spinelli (Michael) and Ms. Barbara Burnett, as well as many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. A special memorial page chronicling Ed's life and his many accomplishments will be available soon on Facebook. A Memorial Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, October 21st at 10:30 am meeting directly at Saint James Church; 2070 Main Street Stratford, CT. Interment will be private.  Friends may call Friday from 4-7 pm at the Adzima Funeral Home 50 Paradise Green Place Stratford, CT. In lieu of flowers those desiring may make donations in memory of Ed to: the Wounded Warrior Project P.O. Box 758517 Topeka, KS 6675-8517 or to the  Connecticut State Police Alumni Association P.O. Box 1945 Meriden, CT 06450.