Leon O. Marion

Marion, Leon O., 82, of St. Petersburg, died Tuesday, June 26, 2007 at Westminster Suncoast of prostate cancer. Born in Huntington Park, CA, he came here in April 2001 from Airmont, NY suburb of Manhattan. He was a graduate of Occidental College in Redlands, CA and later attended graduate school in Columbia University in New York City. He served in the Submarine Service of the U.S. Navy during WWII where he received several medals for distinguished service. He was on the first American plane to land in Berlin, Germany after the USSR initiated the Berlin Blockade in 1948 and helped organize the Berlin airlift and the distribution of its supplies. He retired as Chief Executive Officer of Tolstoy Foundation, founded in 1939, for relief efforts of international refugees. Prior to Tolstoy, he was CEO of the American Council of Voluntary Agencies for Foreign Service with offices at United Nations and 200 Park Avenue South. This organization coordinated the efforts of 365 charitable organizations. In 1974, he was a key figure at the World Food Conference, whose purpose was to set the goal that within a decade, no child in the world would go to bed hungry. During the same year, he was listed in Marquis Edition of ?Who?s Who? and the New York Post named him the ?Man of the Week? in New York City. He was a longtime advisor to the U. S. State Department and also a personal advisor to the White House during the Jimmy Carter administration. He was a member of the First United Methodist Church, a Lay Leader and Sunday School teacher, delegate to the Florida United Methodist annual conference in Lakeland, a Stephens Minister, and member of the church?s Staff-Parish Relations Committee. Survivors include his wife of 52 years, Ann B.; two daughters: Marianne L. Berkovits, Rocky Point, NY; and Linda G. Marion, New Paltz, NY; a son, Richard B., Atlanta, GA; and one grandson, Richard James Marion, Atlanta, GA. Anderson-McQueen Funeral & Cremation Centers-NE St. Petersburg