Principal led Maumee High for 2 decades

5/21/2006

Lee A. Black, 64, a former longtime principal of Maumee High School and a onetime business owner, died of cancer May 12 in his home in Leesburg, Fla.

Mr. Black was the principal of Maumee High from 1973, when he was promoted from assistant principal, until 1994, when he retired. He became assistant principal in 1968.

Before that, Mr. Black taught English and ran the adult education program in the Wayne-Westland schools in Michigan for five years.

"I found [Maumee High] an ideal place to be because of the quality of the faculty," Mr. Black said in a 1994 Blade interview.

"People move here because of the quality of the schools," he noted. "Maumee schools have the support of the community."

In that interview, he also said he counted himself fortunate to have worked much of his career under superintendents such as Fred Rolf and David Abbott.

"[As an administrator], he was someone who liked to involve others and never hesitated to give them the credit," said his wife of 42 years, Patricia A. Black.

"His was a very diplomatic, optimistic person who had a way of quietly working with people to make them feel better about themselves."

Most recently, Mr. Black owned and operated the former Creative Badge & Awards Inc. on Sylvania Avenue in Toledo, from 1994, when he bought it, until about 1998, when he sold it. The company manufactured and merchandised trophies, plaques, ribbons, and other awards items.

A native of Highland Park, Mich., Mr. Black graduated from Wayne Memorial High School in Wayne, Mich., in 1959.

He received bachelor's degrees in economics and psychology from the University of Michigan in 1963.

Four years later, he got a master's degree in educational administration from UM.

In his free time, Mr. Black enjoyed golfing, listening to music, and reading.

Mr. Black was a former member of Maumee United Methodist Church.

His other memberships included the Maumee Lions Club, where he helped found the Northwest Ohio Eye Bank.

Surviving are his wife, Patricia A. Black; daughter, Meredith Detlef; son, Andrew; brother, Alan; sisters, Patricia V. Black and Barbara Bock, and three grandchildren.

There was no visitation and services were private. Arrangements were by Beyers Funeral Home and Crematory, Leesburg Chapel.

The family suggests tributes to Moffit Cancer and Research in Tampa, or the Hospice of Lake and Sumter Counties in Florida.