Mr. Leonard H. Oakes

Leonard H. Oakes, player, teacher of bagpipes; at 69Boston Globe Online / Obituaries / Leonard H. Oakes, player, teacher of bagpipes; at 69,obt,/dailyglobe2/218/obituaries/Leonard H Oakes player teacher of bagpipes at 69+.shtml,/dailyglobe2/218/obituaries/Leonard H Oakes player teacher of bagpipes at 69-.shtml,,Leonard H. Oakes had a passion for the pipes.Mr. Oakes, 69, who taught himself to play the great Highland bagpipes and taught others as well, died of lung cancer Friday in his Ipswich home.,7,,,D,Leonard H. Oakes, player, teacher of bagpipes; at 69,8/6/2003,By Noelle Barbosa, Globe Correspondent,,>," name=HideFromBrowserForVerity>
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Leonard H. Oakes, player, teacher of bagpipes; at 69
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Mr. Oakes, 69, who taught himself to play the great Highland bagpipes and taught others as well, died of lung cancer Friday in his Ipswich home.

"His eyes would sparkle when he talked about playing the bagpipes," said his son Donald of Monmouth, Maine.

Mr. Oakes made kilts for himself and others.He even dressed his son in a kilt for his first day of school.

"It was all about carrying on the tradition," his son said.

Mr. Oakes was born in West Gloucester and graduated from Gloucester High School in 1952.
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After five years of playing the drums, Mr. Oakes taught himself to play the bagpipes and became pipe major.

In 1978, Mr. Oakes began giving free bagpipe lessons.The following year, he helped found the Alleppo Shriners Pipe Band, and later played with the Kevin Barry Pipe Band of Malden.

Mr. Oakes retired from the construction business in 1990, but continued playing the pipes until two weeks before his death.

An active Mason, Mr. Oakes belonged to Tyrian Lodge of Gloucester and Ipswich Royal Arch Chapter.He was also a US Coast Guard licensed fishing captain.