David LeBey was a college English major whose ambition was to become a journalist.
In 1948, the Princeton University alum returned to his home and joined The Atlanta Journal as a reporter, and later, sports editor. He also was a features writer for Atlanta Magazine before a career switch to real estate.
In that profession, the North Fulton High grad witnessed the residential and commercial growth of a city he held dear, and the only metro area he called home, said Barbara LeBey, his wife of 36 years.
"One of his ambitions was to be a journalist," she said, "but he grew to love the real estate business. What he liked most was being so involved in the growth of Atlanta, and being in real estate as intimately as he was, it gave him an inside look at how the city was growing."
Christian David LeBey Jr. never retired, and until five months ago commuted daily from Vinings to a family-owned office complex in East Cobb. When he stopped driving, he still worked from home.
On Saturday, Mr. LeBey died from complications of congestive heart failure and a blood infection at UniHealth Post Acute Care of Brookhaven. He was 84. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Oglethorpe Hill chapel of H.M. Patterson & Son.
Mr. LeBey's deep roots in Georgia extend to ancestors who fought for the colonists during the American Revolution. His father, the late Christian David LeBey, was an All-American football player at Georgia Tech and owner of several Buckhead properties.
After high school, Mr. LeBey attended the McCallie School in Chattanooga, then Princeton where he earned a degree. In the Army, he oversaw the transport of World War II prisoners during the Nuremberg trial.
Mr. LeBey worked as a mortgage banker with his father's firm, C.D. LeBey & Co., followed by stints as an appraiser and commercial real estate investor. He was a member of the Appraisal Institute and served on its ethics committee. He was a past president of the Atlanta Board of Realtors, the Mortgage Bankers Association and Atlanta Kiwanis.
For 25 years, he belonged to "17," a local band in which he played trombone and flute. When able, he was a regular attendee of a senior exercise group that met at the Capital City Club, said Dr. Spencer J. Brewer of Atlanta.
"He was a quiet person and was never known to be boisterous as a real estate professional or otherwise," he said. "He always showed up on Saturday mornings for brunch with the crowd."
Mr. LeBey was a lover of nonfiction and history books. He helped edit copy when his son was editor-in-chief of Westminster's school newspaper.
"He loved it," said his wife, a lawyer and published author, " because at the time he wasn't pursuing writing like he once did."
Additional survivors include a daughter, Pamela LeBey Wilson of Atlanta; son Daniel M. LeBey of Richmond, Va.; and four grandchildren.
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