Leroy Vandegrift was nominated by Linda Hanson, Class of 1958. While in high school, he was senior class president, a member of National Honor Society and a delegate to Boys' State.
Vandegrift received a Bachelor's of Architecture degree from Western Reserve University in 1963, and his Master's of Architecture from Illinois Institute of Technology in 1972. From 1963 to 1968 his career took him to Firestone & Motter Architects in Canton. While pursuing his master's degree at Illinois Institute of Technology, he was an associate with Perkins & Will Architects where he was job captain on the eighty-story Standard Oil Building in Chicago, now known as the Aon Center.
Since 1972, Vandegrift has been with Lawrence and Dykes Architects of Canton. He was named executive vice president of the firm in 1999. Among the many jobs he worked on in his career, one notable project was the 1995 London Candies Building, for which he served as designer and project architect. He is currently involved with the Minerva Schools' building program.
Vandegrift's community service is extensive. He has been a member of the North Canton Lion's Club since 1972 and has served twice as president, vice president and secretary of that organization. He has chaired their major fundraiser, "Rose Day," and has chaired various other committees. He received the Melvin L. Jones Fellow award, a commendation given to a Lion's Club member for many years of dedicated service to the organization.
He has served on the Board of Builders Exchange in Canton. At Grace Brethren Church in Canton, he has served as Sunday School teacher and Children of Grace Day Care Board President. Currently he is a board member of Pathway Caring for Children and the Meyers Lake Planning Commission.
He married his high school sweetheart, Rosemary Lutz, in 1960. They are the parents of four sons: Gary, Stephen (Kim), Mark (Kim), and Scott (Danielle), and six grandchildren: Ashley, Justin, Madison, Klaire, Caiden Matthew and Landon Scott.