Leo L. McGuire Sr., born May 21, 1918, in Carnegie, PA, passed away December 1, 2007.

He was raised by his mother, an Irish-born immigrant. They lived with his grandparents, who operated a coal mine. During the Great Depression, the mine closed.

Leo’s mother, Mary Theresa McGuire, had heard that Irish women could get jobs in California. She packed up the family and moved to Hollywood, searching for a job in the new movie industry.

Leo went to Hollywood High and then on to UCLA, where he played football on a scholarship. He worked as a movie extra in a number of football movies, but he knew there was a war coming, so he went to work at Lockheed.

He advanced quickly into management, and once Pearl Harbor was attacked, Leo enlisted in the Army. His enlistment was denied because of his job title at Lockheed.

A year later, he quit his job so he could enlist in the Army Air Corps. He spent the next four years flying the "hump" – China, Burma, India. Once the war ended he volunteered to stay in China.

Leo’s squadron’s last mission in China was to evacuate Chiang Kai Shek’s army to Taiwan. He returned to the US, and while Lockheed was laying off thousands of employees, he was hired back to work for the Top Secret "Skunk Works."

Leo had a great job at a most exciting time in aeronautical history, but he loved spending weekends working on his mother’s farm in Vista. In 1954, he left Lockheed and moved his wife Barbara and 1-year-old daughter to an avocado grove at the end of a dirt road in Fallbrook.

Leo loved growing avocados, but there was just not enough work to fill the 12-hour day he was used to working. It was then that Leo and his best friend, Mark Urner, started L&M Fertilizer in 1958.

The California avocado industry struggled in the 1960s. Leo became instrumental in the formation of what is now known as the California Avocado Commission.

Always trying to improve the industry, Leo was an early supporter of the Hass variety and an innovator of what is now known as the Avocado bin. He was named the Farm Bureau’s 2004 Farmer of the Year.

Leo was chairman of the Fallbrook Public Utilities District board of directors for more than 10 years. He also represented Fallbrook on the San Diego Water Authority.

Until his death, on Saturday, December 1, Leo lived at home with his wife of 61 years on his five-acre cherimoya grove. He is survived by his wife Barbara, daughter Lauren Rossovich, son Leo Jr. and granddaughter Kelly.

Mass will he held at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Fallbrook Friday, December 7, at 11 a.m. Rosary will precede the Mass at 10:30. A private graveside family ceremony will be held at Forest Lawn Glendale.

In lieu of flowers send donations to San Diego Ag in the Classroom, attn: Leo McGuire Sr. Scholarship, (760) 745-3023.