August 2022 - 73

Eric G. Schwartz | 1943-2022
By Linda Robinson
Eric Schwartz of Arlington MA, passed away peacefully
on May 26 after a short illness at the age of 79. Born in
Crown Heights in Brooklyn NY, he always said he never
needed a radio to know how the Dodgers were doing. After
they decamped for California, he rejoiced and despaired
each day during the baseball season with the ups and
frequent downs of his beloved New York Mets, whom he
followed obsessively for the entirety of his remaining
years.
Eric had a lifelong passion for bridge, attaining the
rank of Emerald Life Master. From his early days at
Queens College playing with future world champions,
through hundreds of sessions at the Chess Club in Boston,
to frequent competitions at the highest levels in North
American Bridge Championships and more recently in
online international competitions, he loved bridge and
the camaraderie around it. He was always up for a barbu
game or a trip to the bar after a session. His stories from
the early days entertained many.
Eric was also an accomplished pianist and accompanist.
In 1967, during his army service in Vietnam, he was
chosen to accompany the legendary tenor and cantor
Richard Tucker when he came to conduct
a seder for Jewish servicemen and
to entertain the troops in Saigon. That
led to his inclusion in a touring singing
and comedy quintet of enlisted men who
were ferried by helicopter to and from
remote outposts where no stars and dancing girls could
go. He used his GI Bill benefits to obtain a degree in music
composition from the New England Conservatory and
settled in the Boston area. He loved choral music, opera
and, especially, Gilbert and Sullivan. He participated
avidly in local choirs and amateur and semiprofessional
productions as a performer, accompanist, composer,
rehearsal director and music director.
Eric retired in 2003 from the Federal Reserve Bank of
Boston, where he worked enthusiastically as a computer
programmer for nearly 30 years, quietly maintaining the
infrastructure of the banking system, including the check
sorters in their years of declining use. He is survived by
his wife, Linda Robinson, son, Gregory, former wife and
friend, Jean Batista Schwartz, and numerous stepchildren
and grandchildren.
JoAnne McLeod | 1939-2022
By the family
Sapphire Life Master JoAnne McFarland McLeod of
Ridgeland MS died May 29 after a struggle with cancer.
She was 82.
JoAnne was an avid duplicate bridge player. She earned
more than 4800 masterpoints as a member of the ACBL,
which she joined in 1979. She became a Life Master in
1991. JoAnne won the unit Mini-McKenney contest many
times at the Jackson Bridge Club. She left many friends
there who dearly loved her. She was a mentor to many
players including her brother after he returned to duplicate
bridge in 2013.
Born and raised in Bay Springs MS, JoAnne graduated
with honors from Bay Springs High School in 1957, and
she was selected as Ms. Bay Springs High School. In 1959,
she was elected as Miss Jasper County and was a close
runner-up to Lynda Lee Mead who went on to become
Miss America that year. JoAnne surpassed all the contestants
by winning the talent contest with a dramatic
reading from John 14: " In my father's house are many
mansions: If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to
prepare a place for you. "
JoAnne was a 1961 graduate of the
University of Mississippi where she was
a Kappa Kappa Gamma. She married
James Norman McLeod III after graduation.
While raising a family, she went
to Jackson Law School (now MC Law School) at night and
graduated in 1975. At age 45, she became a widow and
returned to the work force as a special assistant attorney
general for the Mississippi Attorney General's Office in
the Habeas Corpus Division.
She is preceded in death by her beloved husband, James,
as well as her father, Judge Joe Alexander McFarland,
and her mother, Doris Parker McFarland Smith. All three
were bridge players.
She is survived by her two adult children, Robert Steele
McLeod and Loren McLeod Gineris (David); three grandsons,
James McLeod Gineris, Justin David Gineris, and
William Jackson Gineris, all of St. Charles IL; and brother,
Robert Parker McFarland, Sr. (Becky) of Cumming GA.
August 2022 | Bridge Bulletin |
73
August 2022

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