Corbett Born and Raised

Although John Leamy was born in Vancouver, WA., his family moved to Corbett when he was one year, one month and one day old! John is the youngest of four sons born to his parents. John attended Corbett schools his entire childhood, graduating in 1970 from the high school. John said his childhood was pretty much just school and the farm. Owning 160 acres, the family raised their own food. They had fruit trees, a vegetable garden, beef and chickens. They also fished locally, grew their own hay and were on a spring for their water source. John's mom delivered four boys in five years, so he was never lonely or bored living on the big farm. They were regular attenders of Corbett Christian Church and knew many of the local families. He remembers needing to "walk out" one mile just to catch the Corbett school bus. He also remembers Corbett High School having a smoking room in the basement of the school for teachers and students to smoke in! John attended Multnomah Bible College for one year after graduation because he was interested in becoming a pastor. He changed his mind and transferred to Mt. Hood Comm. College to earn a degree in Business Administration. During this time he met his girlfriend's best friend. John ended up marrying Donna six years later! She was a student at Lewis and Clark College and wanted to wait for marriage until she had finished her degree. Once married, they moved to Sandy, then later, to Portland. They eventually moved back to Corbett in 1979. John began working at Menucha and was in charge of the food service there for eight years. Son Matt was born in 1980  and daughter Casey came along in 1982. Several other jobs came along after his time at Menucha. At one point, John sold real estate for 14 years. He currently is working at the family print shop in Troutdale with son Matt and is also a bus driver for Corbett. Matt's degree is in graphic design, so Leamy Printing and Design is something they do together. John started driving a bus for Corbett schools six years ago. He started as a sub and then grew into being a regular driver. He loves it! Now he also drives the bus for sporting events and on overnight trips with the students and teachers. John said he is continuously amazed at how friendly and polite the Corbett kids are. Although he and Donna have lived in Troutdale for many years, he will always consider Corbett his home.