Leroy Ozanne

Leroy Ozanne was born on October 30, 1925 in Beaumont, Texas, the second of eight children. He peacefully went to glory on March 19, 2025. Following his honorable discharge from the Navy in 1946, Leroy settled in Cleveland, Ohio. He attended Fenn College and John Carroll University. Starting as a Cleveland building inspector, he began to win small commercial construction contracts in the early 1950s which enabled him to incorporate Ozanne Construction Company in 1956.

Leroy met Betty Jean Peyton in 1951 and married her in 1952 in St. Edward Catholic Church in Cleveland. The newlyweds welcomed their first two children, Dominic and Mark, and bought a home in Cleveland’s Mt. Pleasant Neighborhood in 1956 where they joined St. Cecilia Parish.

Leroy and Betty expanded their family with the birth of Lisa and Geoffrey (deceased) and in 1967 moved to Shaker Heights and joined St. Dominic Parish. As one of the first Black families in the Parish, Leroy and Betty were active in the Catholic Interracial Council representing the Parish in the Diocesan wide group. These were challenging times for the Ozanne family as they struggled to gain acceptance by the Parish community.

By 1970 Leroy had developed relationships with many of Cleveland’s community leaders. Through these relationships and his skills Leroy was able to partner with major national construction firms in commercial construction and multifamily housing, one of the first Black contractors in the country to do so.

In addition, Ozanne Construction was the first Black company in Northeast Ohio to work as a union general contractor in commercial construction. Affiliation with the Associated General Contractors of America, Cleveland Building and Construction Trades Council, Construction Employers Association (Guardians Award), and National Association of Minority Contractors (Hall of Fame) are among his accomplishments. He led the company’s expansion into other states (New York, Georgia, and Louisiana). Ozanne projects have received regional and national awards. In addition, many diverse construction companies have been helped by Leroy. He is well known in construction circles as a man who made a positive impact on the industry.

Leroy and Betty Ozanne remained faithful members of St. Dominic Parish until their relocation to Scottsdale, Arizona in 2014. Leroy is preceded in death by his beloved wife Betty and son Geoffrey. He is survived by siblings Daisy Tubbs, Patsy Harris, children Dominic (Gaile), Mark (Paula), Lisa, grandchildren Dominic II, Monique (Timothy Davis), Olivia, Joshua, Andrew (Candice), Matthew (Holly) and great-grandchildren Vincente and Santino Davis and Isabella and Sophia Ozanne and a host of other relatives.

A Funeral Mass will be held, Saturday, April 5th, 2025 at 11 am in The Church of St. Dominic, 19000 Van Aken Blvd., Shaker Hts., OH 44122.  The family will receive friends at the church one hour prior to the service.
The service will be live streamed via this link: www.stdominicchurch.net/worship/livestream

Interment will be in Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland, OH.

In lieu of flowers donations can be made to The Church of St. Dominic, 3450 Norwood Road, Shaker Heights, OH 44122.