On September 17, 2020, Leslie John Milfay passed away at the Southern Arizona Veterans Hospital from complications of lung cancer. He was 75 years young. Born in Hungary on August 1, 1945 Les fled with his family to Yugoslavia when he was 8 years old and had a harrowing experience crossing the border in the middle of the night. His family spent over a year in various refugee camps before immigrating to the United States where they settled in Cleveland Ohio. During his teenage years Les worked as a life guard on Lake Erie. He attended Ohio State University and at 20 years old enlisted in the US Marine Corp and served a tour in Vietnam where he was wounded in combat for which he received the Purple Heart. Les was a “grunt” and survived an incredible battle in which the majority of his company was killed. He would also later serve in the US Army and US Navy but his heart was always with the Corp. After his first tour in the Marines he worked briefly for General Motors then went back to college at Cleveland State where he received his Bachelors of Arts Degree. After college Les went to work for the Cleveland Transit Authority RTA as an accident Investigator.
Les had an amazing and fortuitous life full of adventure, drama and danger. He took up scuba diving and soon became a scuba Instructor. He spent several years instructing and in his spare time diving wrecks in Lake Erie searching for treasure but never found any in the lake. He would eventually move to Tucson Arizona and buy a townhouse in South Tucson. While digging in his back yard to lay an electrical line to his carport, Les literally found a stash of glass jars filled with gold and silver coins; he had found his treasure.
Les loved riding motorcycles and did this for most of his life. He enjoyed riding fast sport bikes with his closest friends and became a very skilled rider which unfortunately drew unwanted attention from local traffic enforcement but his incredible luck and friendly attitude kept him out of serious trouble. He had two serious accidents in his later years this same incredible luck saved his life. While slowing for a traffic light in Tucson he was struck from behind by a truck and hospitalized. Doctors performed a scan of his head and found an AVM or Arteriovenous Malformation which was previously undiagnosed. This generally blows out as the person gets older and they die from a stroke if not treated. Les attributed this unexpected discovery to his late wife Barbara who he insisted was always watching over him. Les underwent treatment, recovered and was soon riding again. Several years later Les was again involved in a serious accident but this time his injuries were much more severe. After a year and a half of a difficult recovery process Les was diagnosed with lung cancer which was more than his weakened body could overcome. As always throughout his life, Les took care of all his details before passing and was very generous to all the people close to him. Les had acquired a reputation with those around him for being immortal due to his incredible ability to survive. We will all miss his keen wit, amazing knowledge of history, his surprisingly good guitar playing and singing around the fire pit in the evening and his boisterous laughter. He was a Great Friend and very proud of his service to his country. Ride on Les!
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