Evening star., 1953-11-02
Leigh
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coroner said Mr.. Leigh died about
a half hour later.
Mr.. Leigh, who had been at
home during his illness, was in
pajamas. His wife's body was
clad in a negligee. Nearby was
a .410-gauge shotgun.
DR.. Leigh said the three-page
note he found was addressed to
him. He said both Mr.. Leigh
and his wife had violent tempers.
DR.. Leigh said the note also
indicated that MIR Leigh had
been respondent over his recent
illness.
Police Describe Suicide.
Police said Mr.. Leigh appar-
emily placed one chair atop an
other in the study. tied one end
of the rope to a rafter and the
other in a Moose around his neck,
and then kicked away the chairs.
Mrs. Leigh was the former
Marcelle Gervais. She and Mr..
Leigh met in France while he
served there during World War
II as a lieutenant colonel and a
historian for the Army.
He married Miss GervaiS Au-
guest 26, 1948, after divorcing
his second wife, the former Frida
T. Frazer.
The 45-aacre Leigh estate was
one of the most beautiful in
the Langley section near Nc
Lean. An imposing house called
Ranleigh was the center of the
estate. It was sold by Mr.. Leigh
some years ago. The house where
he died was a smaller one on
the grounds of Ranleigh and
was called Lower Rahleigh.
There were also two other
smaller houses on the estate, one
occupied by DR.. Leigh and the
other by another son, Armistead
Claiborne Leigh, an Arlington
attorney.
Mr.. Leigh built a small fortune
as sponsor of a Nationwide ora
torical contest, members of the
family said.
DR.. Leigh said his fathers
earnings at one time ran to
100000 year.
In the 1930s, shortly after
he came here, he was general
director of the National and
International Oratorical Con-
test, of which The Star was one
Of the sponsors.
Purpose of the contest was to
bring about a clearer under
standing of governmental princi-
pies on the part of students in
the leading nations of Europe
and America"
Born in Tennessee.
who's Who in America" lists
Mr.. Leigh's birthplace as Mem
phis, Tenn. He attended the
University of the South and re-
ceived a master of arts degree
from Columbia University in
1915.
He was publisher of the Wyo-
ming State Leader and of the
Sheridan (Wyo.) Enterprise from
1915 to 1920 and editorial writer
for the Los Angeles Times from
1920 to 1928.
In 1923, he began his career
directing oratorical contests.
During the 1930s, more than 200
newspapers were sponsoring the
contests.
In 1885, Mr.. Leigh announced
that he would run against Sen
ator Carter Glass, Democrat, of
Virginia in the following years
election. He attacked the
"Glass-Byrd machine"
Early in 1886, however. he
Withdrew from the race, saying
a Statewide tour had convinced
him "it will be impossible for
me to defeat Senator Glass"
In 1910 and 1941, he led the
Randolph Leigh expedition to
the Gulf of California in the
schooner Lascar. He wrote
stories about his trip for The
Star. Among his findings were
that the gulf area contained
some of the richest mineral de-
poSits in the world and that
there was sufficient marine life
there to supply all of the United
States and Mexico.
Wrote Book on Army.
He entered the Army in 1941
and served until 1947. Later he
published a book on how the
Army in Europe was supplied,
"48, ,000, 900 Tons to Eisenhower.
Among other books he wrote
were THE Citadel of Freedom"
and Forgotten Waters"
In 1915, Mr.. Leigh married
Lucy Tillman. DR.. Leigh and
Armistead Leigh are sons of that
marriage. He divorced his first
wife in 1882 and married her
cousin, Frida Tillman.
Mrs. Frida Tillman Leigh is a
well-known interior decorator in
the District. The first Mrs. Leigh
died in 1888.
Mr.. Leigh and his second wife
were divorced in 1948, and he
married Marcelle Gervais, whom
he had met in France. Their son,