William LEAMAN Obituary

Bill was a supervising engineer at the Post Office in Palmerston North when I joined the District Engineer's Office fresh out of university in 1984. He was a great mentor and one of the people who helped me take the first steps in my career. I left to go back to university the following year but always had fond memories of Bill. We reconnected years later through the now defunct oldfriends site, by which time he was long retired and I was living in the US, and I was able to source some hardware for him for some project he was working on. Always an engineer :).

In Wellington, the Leaman and Harris families knew each other. Bill's and my father were big-wigs in the same Lodge! The Leamans lived in Lyall Bay just near the back entrance to Rongotai College where I had my secondary education. Over the five years I was there I ferried many letters and packages between our respective homes!

Bill learned piano from the same music teacher as my wife Noeline (Winter), who grew up in Rongotai, so they knew each other. Noeline recalls Bill as very smart in his school uniform when they had practises for Mrs Journet's pupils' concerts!

Bill was 5 yrs older than me so was ahead of me at Victoria University where he did a BSc degree in Radiophysics. The Radiophysics lab was located beneath the undergraduate Physics Lab and I recall that you always knew when they were building amplifiers through the loud music that drifted up into our lab! I remember visiting a friend in the radio dept at the top of the old Courtenay Place Post Office and finding Bill there.

When I was graduating (in the Wellington Town Hall) I remember Bill telling me that he and his father were coming to my graduation. I felt a bit deflated when he later told me that they went because they always did, as they loved the pomp and ceremony - like the processions and the singing of Gaudeamus!!


When I left Wellington I lost track of Bill for a while. However some years later we met up again in Palmerston North. In 1971 when I joined the foundation staff of the P N Technical Institute (now UCOL) Bill joined the staff as a tutor of Electrical apprentices. Those were the days when most apprentices in the main trades had to attend two evenings per week of compulsory classes!

Bill was an unorthodox teacher and I'm sure he had many tales to tell his students!! On behalf of UCOL I'd like to pay tribute to Bill as he was widely respected for his teaching and the results he obtained.

In later years we didn't see so much of Bill, but we have many memories and pass on our sincere condolences to the family.

Noeline and Noel Harris

Bill interviewed me for my job in November 1964. I have only had one job for the past 50 years and it has been enjoyable and rewarding. Thanks Bill for your wisdom to employ me. RIP

Bill was a special person I loved the battery cars he built while I worked in the Engineers Branch. I hope all those Post Office records he put together will go to a safe place.
Who will be the Leader now those telephone every so often from Bill were great he kept us up to date with our friends from work.
My sympathy to Nancy and his family he will be greatly missed by all staff.
Bev

I worked with Bill, as a draughtsman, in the Palmerston North District Engineer's Office and Telecom, producing mainly transmission plans, from 1965 until his retirement. Bill was very helpful and an enjoyable person to work with.

I worked for Bill in eh Post Office as an Engineering Associate until 1979.We were in the Isa buildings in Palmerston North. have lots of happy memories. Bill was very helpful to me in many ways. We played chess together in out tea breaks using a magnetic board.