William Leslie

William (Bill) Douglass Leslie departed this world on May 20, 2023. He is survived by Ilene, his wife of 45 years; his children, Gillian Montgomery (John) and Adam Leslie (Myra); his grandchildren, Abigail, Dylan, Braden, Piper and Paul; and several cousins, nieces and nephews who considered him the family patriarch.

Bill was born in 1939 to Elizabeth and Frank Leslie in Dallas, TX. He was a rather precocious child, entering high school at the awkward age of 12. He attended Oklahoma University and graduated from SMU in 1962.

His first job out of college was selling group insurance in New York City. While he loved his time there, insurance sales wasn’t for him, so he switched to national television ad spot sales where he spent much of his professional career. During this part of his life, he and Ilene lived first in Atlanta, and then in Chicago. Although they enjoyed life in those two great cities, they absolutely fell in love with Santa Fe on a trip and moved to The City Different in 1983.

Having been an enthusiastic investor in “The Market” for much of his adult life, Bill decided to embark on a new career. He entered the investment business in Santa Fe as an account executive with Paine Webber, and then accepted a position with Smith Barney, eventually becoming VP and Resident Manager. In 1990, Bill became a founding member of Aegis Capital Management. Since 1999, he has managed Aegis, with the unflagging support of his assistant, Denise.

Bill truly loved being an active participant in the community. He was a Campaign Chairman of the United Way; consulted for the City Growth Management Task Force; served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce; and served a term as President of a Rotary Club of Santa Fe.  Bill was especially fulfilled as a founding member of the Santa Fe Business Incubator, and later served as its Chairman of the Board.

Among those who knew and loved him best, Bill was “famous” for his distaste of bad grammar, his love of good food, crossword puzzles, books and Jeopardy!... and, to the dismay of many, Bill loved puns. In recent years, he has derived great joy from playing the daily WORDLE and sharing his results online with his kids and grandkids.

A celebration of Bill’s life will take place Friday, July 7th, 11:00am, at the Rivera Kiva Chapel of Light, 417 East Rodeo Road, Santa Fe.