Obituary: Jack Leppert, Former President of S.S. Pierce, Division of Seneca Foods Corporation, Was a Leader in the Foodservic...
22 September 2015 - 10:46AM
John D. “Jack” Leppert passed away Monday, September 14th at the
Sunset Village Retirement Community in Sylvania, Ohio. He was
93 years old.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available
at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a3a21076-09bb-4d37-a066-bfb16066a281
Jack was born on October 11, 1921 in Saginaw,
Michigan. He left home at the age of 16 and attended General
Motors Engineering School in Freemont, Michigan until January 1942
when he enlisted in the Army Air Force. He also married
Marilyn Koeppen in January 1942 and would remain married for the
next 69 years until her passing in 2011.
During World War II he was assigned to the 491st
Bombardment Group in the 8th Air Force in Pickenham, England as a
navigator on B24J Liberator heavy bombers. During his
service, he performed many missions and earned numerous honors and
medals earning promotion to the rank of Major. He remained
active in the Air Force and the Air Force reserves until his
retirement from the armed forces in 1972.
He worked for several food companies during his
career including President of Vlasic Foods in Lathrop Village,
Michigan, President of Continental Coffee Company in Detroit,
Michigan and President of Clark and Lewis Foodservice Distributors
in Miami, Florida. From 1976 – 1986, he was President of the
S.S. Pierce Company, Woburn and Peabody, Massachusetts, a division
of Seneca Foods Corporation. Under his 10 years of leadership, the
company grew from sales of $18 million per year to well over $400
million to become the largest foodservice distributor in New
England. He retired shortly after S.S. Pierce was sold to
Kraft Foodservice in 1986. After retirement, he did
consulting work for several years and was active in several World
War II fraternal organizations. In 1992, he edited and
published “The Ringmasters – History of the 491st Bombardment
Group” which offered a detailed history of experiences in WWII and
received high praise from historians.
Jack is survived by five children, Karen Foster
(Caleb Glass) Hockessin, Delaware; Kathy Stone (Bill), Sylvania,
Ohio; Patricia Leppert, Palm Harbor, Florida; David Leppert
(Sharon) Plano, Texas, and Richard Leppert (Elizabeth) of
Canandaigua, New York; six grandchildren and one
great-grandchild.
Seneca Foods Contact: Jeffrey Van Riper, Controller
(315-926-8100)
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