Robert B. Leonard

Robert Leonard, 91, of Pender, Nebraska died on Saturday, March 15, 2014 at the Pender Community Hospital in Pender. Funeral services for Bob will be held on Tuesday, March 18, 2014 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church; Pastor Miles Ruch will be officiating. The visitation will be held on Monday from 3:00 until 8:00 p.m. at the Munderloh-Smith Funeral Home of Pender. The family will be present to greet friends from 4:30 until 7:00 p.m. Burial with military honors will be in the Rosehill Cemetery of Pender. Memorials may be directed to the family for future designations. Robert (Bob) Leonard was born in Wayne County, Nebraska on December 20, 1922, the son of Carl and Anna (Bressler) Leonard. He attended Pleasant Valley Church until 1956, when he became a member of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Pender. Bob attended District #1 Country School (also known as “Bloody One”) in Wayne County, graduating from Wakefield High School in 1941. Bob farmed with his family until entering the United States Navy in 1944. He proudly served his country on a minesweeper as a Fireman 1st Class during WW II. After being discharged in 1946, Bob returned home, where he farmed with his family. It was during this time he met Marilyn Kai of Pender. Bob and Marilyn were married in Walthill, Nebraska on April 2, 1950. They lived on the farmstead they built until 2000, when they retired and moved to Pender. Bob and Marilyn were blessed with four children: Logene, Kris, Roger and Mike. During his lifetime, he enjoyed many things. Some of his accomplishments include, serving on District #15 School board, a longtime member of the Thurston American Legion, where he served as commander for a time, and as a member of the Pender VFW. Bob was an award winning wine connoisseur, which brought happiness to many people. For a time, he shared his passion for woodworking with his son Mike, operating the “Slack-Time Shoppe”. You could often find him in the Sandhills of Nebraska doing his part in the day to day operations of a cattle herd. Many lambs were nurtured by his caring hands. He will be missed by anyone who had the pleasure of knowing him. Robert is survived by his wife Marilyn of Pender, NE, daughters Logene (Chuck) Bach of Thurston, NE, Kris (Brad) Stewart of Wayne, NE, sons Roger (Deb) Leonard of Pender, Mike (Becky) Leonard of Wayne, NE, eleven grandchildren sixteen great grandchildren, a brother Samuel Leonard of Wayne, NE and numerous nieces, nephews, brothers and sisters-in-law. He was preceded in death by his parents Carl and Anna and in-laws Art and Florence Kai, a sister Marge Hyde and three brothers Cornelius “Bub”, Jim and Jeff Leonard, and sisters-in-law Frances Leonard and Ruth Leonard, brothers-in-law Webb Hyde, LeRoy Giese, Mylan Kai and Norman Surber, three nieces Barb Leonard, Tina Prokop, Shelley Prokop, and a great granddaughter Maria Leonard.