Leon "Lonnie" E. Talbert

Leon (Lonnie) Edward Talbert was born on October 1st, 1945 to William Luther and Dolly May (Blodgett) Talbert in Goodland, Kansas. Lonnie has three older brothers Allen Wayne (Della ) Talbert, William Earl (Donna) Talbert and James Francis Talbert. He also has one younger brother, Thomas Norman (Wilma) Talbert.

During his younger years the Talbert family lived in the Cotopaxi, Salida and Howard Colorado area where he attended school. He went on to graduate from Cotopaxi High School in 1964. He served as a member of the Army National Guard Special Forces for 6 years. On March 16th, 1970 Lonnie joined the Colorado Springs Police department. He worked Patrol, Undercover Narcotics and was Promoted to Sergeant. During that time he led the Swat Team. He retired on October 21st, 1981 having served almost 12 years on the force. Lonnie was previously married to Lynne Novotny for 12 years and had two sons Dale and Donald. He remains friends with Lynne. On February 2nd, 1980 Lonnie married his wife of 43 years Linda Meredith Simmons. And another Son was added, Matthew Talbert. He joined the family business Simmons Sprinkler Systems that he became owner and operator of for 43 years.

In 1988 he and his wife relocated from Colorado Springs, Colorado to Grand Junction, Colorado where he continued the family business. Many of homes and businesses in Grand Junction have his fingerprints all over them.

In 1993 he and his wife became the Pastors of Lighthouse Christian Church, where he was the Church Administrator, Sunday School Teacher, grounds keeper and maintenance man. He was the glue that kept the building running and serving the community. His hard work showed in the beautiful landscape as well as the many lives he watered for 25 years. He continued to be a small business owner in the community when they changed the name from Simmons Sprinkler Systems to Simmons Backflow. For many years they tested backflow systems in the community, not only for Simmons, but Chucks and WD yards until they ended in 2021.

In August of 2021, Lonnie had a fall that resulted in a traumatic brain injury. His wife took continuous care of him and never left his side up to the day of his death on June 11th, 2023.

He is survived by his Wife of 43 years, Linda Talbert. Two sons Dale (Jeannette) Talbert and Donald (Tracy) Talbert. He has five grandchildren Taylor Duran, Travis Talbert, Samantha Chandler, Mahayla Talbert, and Ethan Talbert. As well as 5 great grandchildren, Jordan, Lincoln and Noah Duran, and Keenan and Lukas Sanchez. One son Matthew, and both of his parents preceded him in death and welcomed him at his Heavenly Home with great joy and celebration amongst many other family and friends.

He is so loved by many. Loved by God and we know his name is in the Lamb’s Book of Life. As Matthew 25:23 says, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” To which we say “Amen.“

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.callahan-edfast.com for the Talbert family.