On August 17, 1914, in the Mann family’s ancestral log house outside Greenville, West Virginia, Leonard Mann was born to Frank and Emma Belle (Miller) Mann. Growing up among the people and in the hills he loved so much, young Leonard worked farming, carpentry and other odd jobs during the Depression, eventually matriculating as a special student at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. He graduated from Asbury College in 1942, and in 1946 earned a Master of Divinity degree from Boston University.
In 1943, Leonard Mann married fellow Asburian Esther Lutz of Amanda, Ohio. With Esther as his beloved helpmate, Rev. Mann went on to a thirty-three-year ministry in the West Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church. Parishes served by the Manns include Kingston, Columbus Thurman Avenue, Richwood, London First, Springfield High Street, Lima Trinity, and Chillicothe Trinity. Throughout his career, Rev. Mann was respected as an inspiring preacher, youth leader, spiritual counselor and church builder. Leonard Mann served as a trustee of Ohio Northern University, from which he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree in 1974.
A prolific author, Leonard Mann shared his faith and his love of story in about nineteen books, among them Stars for Your Sky, Treasures Found in Passing, A Bird in the Hand, and The First Ten Days: A Novel about the Birth of Christian Faith. The latter was published in his ninety-ninth year.
Leonard Mann was preceded in death by his brother L. Franklin Mann. In 1995, Esther Mann died after a brief illness. Rev. Mann married the second love of his life, Sallie (Miller) Mann in 2001. She passed away on August 2, 2019, just after her 100th birthday. Surviving are Leonard and Esther’s son Stephen Leonard Mann of Hawaii and partner Clear Englebert, and daughter Susan Elaine (Mann) Hendrix and husband Gary Hendrix of Texas. Missing their grandpa are granddaughters Laura Elizabeth (Reams) Gruntorad with husband Matt of Nebraska, and Elaine Nicole (Reams) Vinas with husband Patrick of Texas. Great-grandchildren are Austin Leonard Vinas, Henry Dean Vinas, Rose Eleanor Gruntorad and Luke Woodson Gruntorad. Also surviving are Leonard Mann’s stepchildren Janice (Bill) Halderson, David (Angel) Wright, Jonathan Wright, and their families.
A memorial service, Rev. Brooks Heck presiding, will be held at First United Methodist Church, Lancaster, Ohio, at 4:00 on December 7, 2019, preceded by visiting from 3:00-4:00. A reception will be held at First Church Rising House after the service.
“Let it be said of me, strong tree, that I was still growing when I fell.” LWM and SHE
Edo Miller and Sons Funeral Home is entrusted with arrangements. www.edomillerandsons.com
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