Burl Leon “Lefty” Mead died March 18, 2008 at Miami (OK) Nursing Center. He was born Feb. 4, 1918 at Durant, Okla., to Levi Landers Mean and Bessie B. Shelton Mead.

He was a member of the First Baptist Church of Miami and the American Legion and a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation.

He married Melba Dillard in Idabel, Okla., Aug. 28, 1944.

He joined the CCC Camp in 1936. He worked for Dierks Lumber and Coal Company in Wright City, Okla., from 1937 to 1942. He pitched baseball for their advertising team until he entered the military during World War II. He worked for B.F. Goodrich for 34 years and retired in 1980.

He was drafted into the U.S. Army on Dec. 4, 1942 and served with the 624th Medical Clearing Company, attached to the 3rd Army until Feb. 17, 1946. He retired from the U.S. Army Reserves as a master sergeant in 1950.

His passion was baseball. He spent many hours working with Babe Ruth teams and little league teams teaching young boys the fundamentals of pitching. Many boys from the surrounding area learned to pitch baseball in his backyard.

He is survived by his wife, Melba Mead; two sons, Ron Mead and his wife Sue and DeWayne Mead and his wife Karen, all of Miami; a grandson, Myk Mead and his wife, Sherry, of Miami; two granddaughters, Shelly Mead-Gaught and husband, Robert of Columbia, Mo., and JoDee Liptak and husband, Arturo of Bixby, Okla.; two great-granddaughters, Felicia and Veronica Liptak of Bixby; two sisters, Bernice Sweeney of Calera, Okla., and Anita Herrell of Ada, Okla., a sister-in-law, Gerry Mead of California; four step-grandchildren; and nine step-great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents; three brothers; and three sisters.

Private services will conducted at a later date.

In lieu of flowers the family suggests that donations be made to the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation in care of Paul Thomas Funeral Home, Miami, Okla.