Leona M. Comer

Jul 17, 2023

Leona M. Comer-Hill, co-owner of Comer Construction Co. Inc. in Harford County who enjoyed bluegrass music and riding her Harley-Davidson motorcycles, died of stage 4 lung cancer Thursday at her sister’s Forest Hill home. The Bel Air resident was 60.

“Leona was definitely all-company and its employees,” Paul Swank, a 12-year veteran who is vice president of operations, said. “She’d give them the shirt off her back even though she was very thrifty. She knew all of the employees’ spouses and their kids’ names, which goes a long way when you’re working for a family-owned company.”

Keith Rhodes, who worked for Comer Construction for 20 years, now owns Rhodes Flagging with his wife, Tammy, formerly a secretary for the construction company.

“I always called Leona my ‘work wife’ because I was a superintendent and spent more time with her than Tammy,” Mr. Rhodes said, with a laugh.

“I started working there with her father, Marvin, and they were a great company to work for,” he said. “They were all down-to-earth people who treated you like family and a human being rather than just a number. We still do traffic management for them when they get in a bind.”

Leona Maybelle Comer, daughter of James Marvin Comer, founder of J.M. Comer Construction, and Grace Ann Hilton Comer, a homemaker, was born in Havre de Grace and raised in Street.

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Mr. Comer, an avid bluegrass fan, organized the Comer Bluegrass Music Festival that brought artists like Alison Krauss & Union Station to Harford County.

He passed along his enthusiasm to his children.

“Leona’s middle name is from Maybelle Carter of the Carter Family,” said a sister, Linda Sue “Susie” Comer, co-owner, president and treasurer of Comer Construction.

Mr. Comer, who had been a farmer and truck driver, later worked for Harford Excavating Co. and Crouse Construction Co. before establishing his own business in 1982.

“Dad had experience working for other contractors, but things weren’t going the way he thought they should,” Ms. Comer said in a 2022 I95Business story. “So, with two purchased trucks, loader and a [bull]dozer, we started the business.”

“Marvin came up with nothing and the girls helped him make it,” said Snowy Moran, owner of Moran’s Bus Service, and a longtime friend.

Ms. Comer-Hill, a graduate of North Harford High School, joined the family-owned business in 1986.

In 1998, when Mr. Comer retired, he sold the business to Ms. Comer-Hill, Ms. Comer and Ruby Comer Greene, who has since left the company, which was renamed Comer Construction Co. Inc.

Ms. Comer-Hill, vice president of the Forest Hill-based company, assisted in the day-to-day operations, as well as managing maintenance and repairs of the equipment and fleet of vehicles.

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According to I95Business, the company’s fleet has grown to “17 bulldozers, 22 excavators and backhoes, 22 loaders, 10 articulated trucks, 24 rollers and 25 dump, tractor, roll-off and service trucks.”

Comer Construction specializes in site preparation, site grading and utility installation, among other things.

“She could be very demanding, knew what she wanted, fought for what was right, and went full-throttle,” Mr. Swank said. “She wanted everyone to have the same work ethic and took after her father. She was a very good leader, and while she demanded a lot, she took care of the employees in return, and was always very fair.

“Everything she did, she did with a handshake. She didn’t need contracts. Her word was everything.”

“Leona was one of the best persons you’d ever want to meet. She’d do anything for anybody. You couldn’t find a better friend,” Mr. Moran said.

Ms. Comer-Hill’s philanthropic interests included the Char Hope Foundation, the Kaufman Cancer Center and the Senator Bob Hooper Hospice House.

In addition to bluegrass music, Ms. Comer-Hill enjoyed riding one of the four Harleys she owned, playing dirty marbles and camping.

A viewing will be held from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. followed by funeral services Thursday at Oak Grove Baptist Church at 2106 Churchville Road in Bel Air.

In addition to her sister, Ms. Comer-Hill is survived by her mother, Grace Ann Comer of Forest Hill; two other sisters, Peggy A. Belcher of Conowingo and Ruby Comer Greene of Street; a brother, David Coblentz of Bel Air; and four grandchildren. Her son, Douglas James Hill, died in 2021. A marriage ended in divorce.