John Wilmarth Leroy, 92, formerly of 41 Church St., Cheshire, died Thursday, July 30, 1992, at the Sweet Brook Nursing Home in Williamstown. Death followed a long illness. He has resided at the home for the past six years.

Born on Aug. 12, 1899, in Stamford, Vt., he was the son of the late Emile and Marianne (Zwahler) Leroy. He attended schools in Stamford, Vt., and in North Adams, and has resided in Cheshire most of his life.

Mr. Leroy was employed for the New England Telephone Company as a lineman for 30 years, retiring in 1963. He and his late wife operated Leroy's Tourist Home in Cheshire in 1939 until its closing in the early 1960s. Mr. Leroy, a veteran Town Hall officeholder for the town of Cheshire, was at one time town clerk, town tax collector and had served on the town's Democratic Committee.

He was a member of the Cheshire Volunteer Fire Dept., a member of the New England Telephone Pioneers, a member of the Cheshire Senior Center and was cited there for his active service at the senior center. He was known for his outstanding gardening abilities.

Mr. Leroy was a communicant of St. Mary of the Assumption Church in Cheshire.

His wife, the former Margaret Purcell, whom he married June 29, 1925, died Jan. 6, 1989.

He leaves a son, John P. Leroy of Carpentersville, Ill.; two daughters, Margaret Chuckovich of Rochester, N.Y., and Shirley Tremblay of Pittsfield; two sisters, Lydia Williams of Stamford, Vt., and Anne Perkins of Portland, Oregon; six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Services at the Dery-Cheshire Funeral Home will be held Monday, 9:15 a.m., followed by a Liturgy of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. at St. Mary of the Assumption Church, Cheshire, celebrated by the Rev. Thomas Begley, pastor. Burial will follow in the Cheshire Cemetery. Calling hours at the Dery-Cheshire Funeral Home will be Sunday, 2-5 p.m. only. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Cheshire Volunteer Fire Department or to St. Mary of the Assumption Church, both in care of the funeral home, 121 North State Road, Cheshire, Mass. 01225.