Excerpts from the ChicagoSunTimes.com:
Between alarms, you might have seen Lt. Leroy Hearon gliding around his Chicago firehouse, perfecting the steps to the tango which enticed him more than 25 years ago. When he saw the Argentinian art form — sensual, melancholy and urgent — he instantly was determined to learn it. Eventually, he taught the dance and would travel every year to Buenos Aires, staying for weeks to take lessons and perform at dance halls.
Leroy died June 11 at the age of 63 of pneumonia after contracting the coronavirus. His 84-year-old mother died April 29 of natural causes, and he fell ill three days later. He was hospitalized for about 45 days.
Leroy grew up in public housing at Cabrini-Green. His mother, a data entry operator, was from Greenwood, Mississippi. His father was a truck driver for Inland Steel. After graduating from Gordon Tech High School, he attended the prep school at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. At 22, he scored high on both the Chicago police and fire exams, but the fire department was taking recruits at the time, so he entered the fire academy. He climbed the ranks to lieutenant, and his assignments included stints in Uptown, at O’Hare Airpor,t and Midway Airport. Before retiring at 55, he worked in the Fire Prevention Bureau.
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