Obituaries

An amazing and full life built by a self-made man. He never had a bad day. An incredibly soft heart. An unassuming dry sense of humor.

Clifford Edward Leimback was born January 11th, 1928, in Casper, Wyoming to Ferdinand “Fritz” Leimback and Alice Goldie Christopherson.

At the tender age of four, he lost his father in a workplace accident. His mother, now on her own to raise Cliff and his older sister Marion, enrolled in Montana State Normal School to obtain a teaching certificate. Marion remained with her mom and Cliff lived with loving aunts, uncles and grandparents, changing residence every year up into high school. Always a self-starter and hard worker, family was happy to have him.

Cliff left high school to join the Navy in 1944 and was stationed in Long Beach, CA. Returning to Joliet to complete his senior year, he then capitalized on the GI Bill to enroll in college, beginning at the University of Oregon and graduating from the University of Washington, Cum Laude in 1952. He later returned to the UW and graduated in 1957 with a second Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with a major in Accounting.

On a hitchhike from Wyoming to Billings, MT, his friend Sparky taught him to dance between lifts. That paid off when he met Jean Weathermon at a dance in Billings. He courted; she was smitten. Remarkably, he received a letter from Jean addressed “Clifford Leimback, Eugene, Oregon”. They were married in Tacoma in 1951, years later celebrating 60 years of wedded bliss and an enviable marriage. Cliff was Jean’s rock and primary caregiver the last year leading up to her passing in June of 2011.

In 1954, Peat Marwick Mitchell & Co’s Seattle office, now KPMG, hired Cliff as a young accountant where he worked his way up to Partner in the audit practice. Cliff had all of the qualities you wanted in a first-class professional: intelligence, honesty, integrity and interpersonal skills. He was the lead partner on a number of the office’s largest engagements and was admired and respected by his clients and colleagues for his unwavering professionalism. In addition to serving clients, he was also the office’s lead recruiting partner responsible for identifying and hiring the best college graduates. There was no one you would rather work with or be mentored by. You wanted to see Cliff when you needed advice and counsel.

Relocating from NE Seattle to Bainbridge Island in 1963, Cliff and Jean built a home in Port Madison. Soon after, they joined Wing Point Golf & Country Club where they made lifelong friends. A lot on the 6th green and their love of golf lured them into building again, this time on the course at Wing Point in 1979. Through KPMG they enjoyed a golf membership in Seattle at Broadmoor Golf Club and further expanded their friend circle.

Cliff’s stepfather introduced him to golf and dad played into his early nineties. Not one to boast, he finally confessed he shot his age every year but one at age 69 and beyond and had a total of 7 hole-in-ones! Cliff always enjoyed friendly wagers in golf. He was known to play as many as five different wagering games in a foursome, keeping track of each in his head. At the end of the round, you needn’t ask Cliff for the details, only what you owed.

At 57, after a successful career in accounting and auditing with KPMG, Cliff began his early retirement. He and Jean spent several winters golfing and exploring Southern California before settling in Rancho Mirage and finding their happy place at Desert Island Golf where again they met and made wonderful friends.

He loved “scrounging” – going to garage sales or scanning the ads each week before grocery shopping. For his 80th, his family gifted him an iPod, as music was a daily joy. He accumulated more than 1500 songs in his playlist. Dad had a knack for remembering names and genuinely enjoyed people. But his proudest achievement was the relationships he had with KPMG colleagues and the impact he had on them and they on him.

He had a twinkle in his eye and an immense love and admiration for his grandson, Tristan.

Cliff is survived by his adoring family: daughters, Vicki Leimback (Dan), Orcas Island, and Karen Leimback (Steve) and grandson, Tristan Krajcovic, Seattle; cousins Helen Cook Ortiz and Dick (Barbara) Leimback; many nieces and nephews including Leisl (Joseph) Miriello and Gayle (Dwight) Brunsvold.

He will always be honored and remembered with much love by everyone who knew him.

A memorial service will be held September 30th at 4pm at Magnolia United Church of Christ, 3555 W McGraw Street Seattle, WA 98199.

Remembrances may be directed to First Tee Greater Seattle, firstteeseattle.org P.O. Box 31020 Seattle, WA 98103 or First Tee Coachella Valley firstteecoachellavalley.org  74-945 Sheryl Avenue, Palm Desert, CA 92260.