Mount Gambier forestry leader Dr Jerry Leech AM will be farewelled at his funeral in the Blue Lake city on Thursday (December 7).


Dr Leech passed away on November 26 and is survived by his wife Mary, their three daughters and their families.


He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2022 Queen’s Birthday Honours List for his significant contribution to forestry, the community and tertiary education.


“I was not expecting it, (the AM) in terms of my professional career.


I did not expect them to know half of the things that I would consider important,” he told The SE Voice at the time.


“I have always tried to keep things like career and community and living and family all approximately in balance.”


Dr Leech was involved with the community for many years, particularly with the Lakes Rotary Club and the Ryder Cheshire Mount Gambier Home Foundation.


He was a long-standing bulletin editor for the Rotary Club Mount Gambier Lakes and was the chairman of the District Grants Sub-Committee for the Rotary District 9780.


He was the treasurer of the Ryder-Cheshire Mount Gambier Home Foundation Board.


Dr Leech told The SE Voice that he believed in serving the local community and said it had broadened his outlook on life


Dr Leech was involved in the forestry industry for many years, had extensive knowledge about computers and data processing, along with publishing many scientific papers.


He shared his knowledge and expertise with others as a Principal Fellow/Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne and an Adjunct Professor at Southern Cross University.


Dr Leech had also worked overseas for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation in various places including Myanmar, Bhutan, China, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Rome.


To add to his achievements, Dr Leech had previously received other significant awards from Forestry Australia (formerly the Institute of Foresters of Australia), The Rotary Foundation and the Commonwealth Forestry Association.