Leroy was born at 1400 Rockefeller Place in Shreveport to Leroy Beck and Hazel Hubley. He recalls a positive neighborhood environment. "Everybody played a part in raising you," he says. Outside his neighborhood, however, he faced many aspects of segregated life, such as separate restrooms and water fountains for blacks and whites. To earn spending money as a child, he caddied, picked cotton, and sold and delivered newspapers. At Booker T. Washington High School he played several sports. He entered the U. S. Navy in March of 1956 and took boot camp in San Diego. Afterward he was stationed on a ship, the USS George Clymer (AP-57) a troop transport, where he worked on deck as a "ducky." Leroy earned his GED while in the service. He was also trained as an airplane mechanic, and served three tours in Vietnam. On his second tour he was injured and spent 29 days in the hospital. Leroy retired from the Navy in 1982. He worked for McDonnell Douglas Corporation for eight years in California before returning to Shreveport where he held several positions before retiring. Leroy married Henrietta Wells on January1, 1972. They have two children and one grandchild.