Barbara Leonard has lots of love for her hometown of Aspinwall

Aspinwall native Barbara Leonard has a lot of love for her hometown.

The retired echocardiologist can often be seen cleaning up Fireman’s Memorial Park on Ninth Street or sharing stories with fellow social members of American Legion Post 77.

“It’s where I grew up, where I feel comfortable,” Leonard said, sitting at a Legion table on May 15. “Where I know so many people.”

Never afraid to share an opinion, Leonard has deep family ties in Aspinwall.

The daughter of borough police officer Harry Leonard and Aspinwall High School cafeteria worker and homemaker Margaret (Tambellini) Leonard, the major lesson imbued by her parents was respect.

Have respect for your family, friends, coworkers and others.

Leonard’s grandfather, Joseph, owned Tambi’s Bar along Freeport Road. It was one of the first of its kind at the time in Aspinwall. The site is now known as Tom & Tuds.

This month is a particularly busy one for the lifelong resident and 1965 Fox Chapel Area High School grad.

She leads a small group of volunteers who organize the borough’s Memorial Day service and parade.

Leonard, 77, is joined by her niece, Meredith Troyan and borough administrative assistant Brian Corey-O’Connor in this effort.

“We remember our veterans,” Leonard said. “I love our veterans. I was raised in the Vietnam era in the ’60s. When those men and women came home were treated like (expletive).”

Memorial Day details

Memorial Day service is planned for 11 a.m. outside American Legion Post 77 along Commercial Avenue.

The Rev. Scott Hill of Aspinwall Presbyterian Church is expected to deliver the invocation.

Former resident Nathan Clark will play taps and local veterans will deliver a 21-gun salute.

Other religious leaders were invited to participate. Their roles were not confirmed by presstime.

A parade will take place at noon.

The route is from the American Legion, left onto Eastern Avenue, right onto Second Street, left onto Virginia Avenue, left onto Fourth Street, left onto Western Avenue, left onto Second Street, right onto Center Avenue then back onto Commercial Avenue.

About 30 groups have signed up to be in the parade. Among them are local police, fire and EMS departments, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Pennsylvania Dinosaurs, Fox Chapel Little Foxes, Fox Chapel Area High School Marching Band, North Hills Historic Auto Club, Fox Chapel Area Baseball Softball Association and the Pittsburgh Firefighter Memorial Pipe Band.

Leonard said she plans to be involved in Memorial Day plans for as long as her health permits.

Mayor Joe Noro said Leonard’s efforts are much appreciated.

“Barb is a special, loving person that cares so much about others,” Noro said. “She puts her heart and pride into the Memorial Day parade — always remembering our veterans and the veterans that died for our country.”

Tradition continued

Leonard has coordinated Memorial Day activities for at least 10 years.

She took over for former Aspinwall Chamber of Commerce president Harold Sankey, who handled those responsibilities for quite a while.

“There wouldn’t be a parade if it was not for all her hard work and dedication,” said Sankey, 70, of O’Hara. “It’s not easy (setting up a parade). People have to be notified. You have to do the invitations. You have to organize with the firemen and the fire department and also the Legionaries.

”The whole thing is to honor the veterans who have fought, served and those that died for the United States. I’m glad it still continues to this day. I don’t know what will happen when she decides not to do this.”

Sankey is also a social member of the American Legion. He said Leonard is well-liked at the club and gets along with everyone.

“She’s a beautiful person,” he said. “She’s our ‘bubba.’ I don’t see anyone having an unkind word to say about her.”

Medical work

Leonard has built her life around helping people.

She worked as a soda jerk at Towne Drug while in high school and developed an interest in the medical field, specifically nuclear medicine.

Leonard would spend countless hours at the University of Pittsburgh’s library studying related content — despite not formally being in classes.

Her hard work would result in being named a Registered Diagnostic Cardiac Sonographer as well as credentialed with the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography and an emeritus of the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists.

“That’s a lot of studying,” Leonard said. “That’s a lot of crying. That’s a lot of reading. That’s a lot of learning. That’s a lot of registries. I was very fortunate. What I did was all diagnostics.”

She worked at St. Francis Hospital of Pittsburgh for more than 30 years and helped start its echocardiology program.

“No one knew what it was,” Leonard recalled. “It was very, very fetal. We had a tiny little machine that would look inside the patient’s brain and look for brain tumors.”

They would also use radioactive isotopes to diagnose disease.

Leonard said she and the St. Francis doctors would do everything they could to help people and save lives.

St. Francis closed in 2002 and was acquired by UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.

Her medical work came at great personal sacrifice with relationships.

“I married my job,” Leonard said. “(My) love and dedication (was) to the patient and taking care of the patient. Helping them. It’s a devotion. I devoted my life to that work.”

Among her many memories at St. Francis were the times she worked with military doctors in the 1970s.

“It was the most fantastic experience to work with those Vietnam doctors than I ever experienced in my life,” Leonard said.