Leon Thomas McGhee Obituary (1952 - 2026)

Born Mar 11, 1952, Leon Thomas McGhee attended William Byrd High School in Vinton, VA. View the obituary, post a memory, or share a photo about Leon Thomas Mcghee.

Graduation Year	Class of 1969
Date of Birth	Mar 11, 1952
Date of Passing	Aug 05, 2026
About	Leon Thomas McGhee, 74, of Roanoke, VA passed away August 6, 2026. He was born March 11, 1952 in Roanoke VA. He was the son of the late Horace L. McGhee and Estelle Tosh McGhee. Leon is survived by his wife, Ginger M. McGhee of Roanoke, VA; his daughter and son-in-law, Afton M. and Nicolas C. Mormann of McLean, VA; his daughter April L. McGhee of Roanoke, VA; and his grandchildren, Ian T. Mormann and Anna L. Mormann of McLean, VA. Leon was born in Roanoke, but moved to Botetourt County at age 6. He grew up in a country atmosphere where he said an 11 year old boy could walk through a subdivision with a 410 shotgun to go hunting; and nobody thought about calling the police. Due to his mother being a Roanoke County school teacher, he attended Roanoke County Schools and graduated from William Byrd High School in 1969. He liked to say he lived at a time with no cell phones, and as a teenager he got the thrill of going out on Williamson Road to watch "souped-up" cars and beautiful ladies because that's what young guys did. He graduated from Virginia Tech with degrees in accounting and in business management. He said his biggest accomplishment at Virginia Tech, however, was meeting a beautiful young lady, Ginger Martin (who later became Ginger McGhee), at Radford College on Halloween night. After graduating from Virginia Tech, Leon went to work at Ernst and Young in Winston-Salem, NC. After passing the CPA exam, he returned back to Roanoke to be with his future wife, Ginger, and worked for KPMG. He left KPMG and went to work as vice president for Warren Saunders Co. Afterwards, Leon opened up his own accounting company, L.T. McGhee & Co., in Vinton, VA. In 1976 Leon married Ginger and the two began a wonderful life together. The following year, Leon began an almost 50 year career in the real estate business. He did almost everything a person could do in real estate including selling homes, developing numerous subdivisions, owning and managing a large number of rental units, and flipping houses before there was the phrase "flipping houses." He enjoyed his many "big boy toys" such as his bull dozers, tractors, dump trucks, etc. that he used for his many real estate activities. He was a well rounded person that could do just about anything from preparing a doctor's tax return to digging the foundation for a home. During this time period, he was blessed with two daughters, Afton and April, whom were his pride and joy. Family was the most important thing of all to Leon. Among the many activities Leon enjoyed with his family was spending summers at Smith Mountain Lake boating and water skiing. He even slalom skied at age 70 after finding out he had cancer. He enjoyed playing with his grandchildren, Ian and Anna, at the lake and starting their love for lake fun. Leon wanted to express the following in his obituary: "First I would like to thank Blue Ridge Cancer Center for all of their help and support. I was diagnosed with a rare stomach cancer at Sloan Kettering in New York. It was level 4; I was told that no treatment would beat this disease, and that the most I would live was 24 months. Dr. Andrew Fintel treated me and I had a quality life for over 3 ¾ years. I would like to thank him and his staff for the treatment and care I received." "I was blessed to live a full life. I lived in a beautiful area and spent time in many other beautiful areas. I spent over 15 weeks in Colorado and Wyoming climbing mountains, hunting elk, etc. I spent weeks on the North Platte River in Wyoming fishing for trout. I climbed the steps of Notre Dame Cathedral in France, saw the Pope in Rome, saw the Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica, saw the beautiful sunset in Key West, saw Michael Vick at the National Championship football game, enjoyed Virginia Tech football games at Lane Stadium with my family for over 30 years, worked for myself for approximately 50 years, and was fortunate enough to have two grandchildren, Ian and Anna, to enjoy time with." "Over the years of my life, I was blessed by meeting many wonderful people. Tammy Shepherd was still a teenager when she went to work for L.T. McGhee & Co. For over 30 years, she was my right hand person in the firm, and also became like a 3rd daughter. Glenn Clingenpeel was like a brother to me for over 60 years. H.B. Hodges was like a brother to me for the past 50 years. In the past 20 years, Ron Ernest and Al McPhearson have become wonderful friends. I have also been blessed to have a wonderful son-in-law, Nick Mormann. Many other wonderful people have also blessed my life and I am grateful for you all. I have had a Great Family and Great Friends! What a Wonderful Life!" A Celebration of Life will be held at Bonsack Baptist Church at 2:00 on Saturday, August 15, 2026 with Dr. Chris Cadenhead officiating. The family will receive friends at Oakey's East Chapel on Friday, August 14, 2026 from 6 to 8 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society, Virginia Tech Foundation Inc (Fralin Biomedical Research Institute - cancer research), Bonsack Baptist Church, or Good Samaritan Hospice.

Classmate Memories

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Bill Lundy '69 said:

One great individual that i had the pleasure of spending time with at William Byrd. Will be missed and God speed my friend.

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