Brigadier General Leo Paul Geary (Retired) died March 23, 2009 in Boston. He was born in Boston, Oct. 13, 1917. After graduating from Tufts University in 1940 with a degree in chemistry, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army Air Corps in December 1941. He married Celia K. Anderson in March 1942 and had two daughters. Celia died in 1996 and he later married Catherine McMahon.

General Geary’s early military assignments included flying as a B-24 pilot in World War II. He also served as an intelligence staff officer at the Pentagon from 1954 to 1966. During that assignment, he was program director for SR-71/YF-12A programs as well as assistant for reconnaissance, Deputy chief of staff, research and development. In the 1960s, he was responsible for retrieving Gary Powers after he was shot down during the U2 reconnaissance.

Subsequently, General Geary served as deputy commander, San Antonio Air Materiel Area, Air Force Logistics Command, at Kelly Air Force Base, Tex. and remained in that position until his reassignment as defense attaché, Pakistan, in September 1967. As defenseattaché he was the representative of the U.S. Secretary of Defense in Pakistan. He retired from the Air Force in 1970 and resided in Denver, Colo. After his marriage to Catherine, he spent summers in Martha’s Vineyard.

During his retirement in Denver, he was active in philanthropic activities and in 1988 was president of the Kiwanis Club of South Denver.

General Geary is survived by his two daughters, Christine K. Geary Himchak of Williamsburg, Va., and Judith A. Geary of Denver; three grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his wife, Catherine M. Geary, and her children, Jill Mees of Centennial, Colo., Cindy Clancy of Wayland, Mass., and Thomas McMahon of Lynn, Mass., and their children.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the South Denver Kiwanis Foundation, Box 101405, Denver, CO 80250-1405; or the Colorado Special Olympics, 410 17th street, Denver, CO 80202.