LeRoy Louis Scheele

LeRoy Louis Scheele, 79, of Las Vegas, NV, passed away on June 8, 2015, in Carson City, NV. He was born on April 12, 1936, in Atkinson, NE to Walter and Clara Scheele. He was raised on a farm outside of Jensen, NE. The family later moved to Diller and then Fairbury, NE. He lost his arm when he was 8 years old. In high school, LeRoy was involved in many activities. He played varsity basketball, was a state qualifier in track, sang in boys’ glee club, and chorus. He graduated from Diller HS in 1955. He attended Fairbury Jr. College and Peru State Teacher’s College and graduated in 1959 with a degree in mathematics and minored in Eng. and P.E. As a young man he enjoyed reading, fishing, hunting, and trapping. He started his 37 year teaching career at Sutton HS in NE. He taught mathematics there for four years before meeting Zona Salmen in the summer while managing the Sutton pool. They were married July 18, 1965. They left Nebraska to teach in Rocky Ford, CO for two years and then taught in Las Vegas. He retired after teaching 19 years at Bonanza High School. He earned his Masters of Arts in Education from Northern Arizona University in 1970. For ten years, in the summer, he worked as a tour guide at Hoover Dam. He was very involved with Christ Lutheran Church for 45 years. He served on a variety of committees that included working on starting the church daycare and preschool. LeRoy has traveled throughout the U.S. and abroad with his friends and family. Throughout his life he could be found gardening, maintaining rentals, reading, traveling, joking, chatting, singing, teaching, or holding babies. He was loved by many for the laughter he provided with his humorous stories or jokes. He had an infectious smile and laugh. He wore his heart on his sleeve and was very passionate in life and love. He was preceded in death by his parents, his step-father Wilbert Pagel, and his brother Floyd Scheele. LeRoy is survived by his wife of 49 yrs., Zona Mae Scheele; his daughters Minka (Daniel) Brown of Gardnerville, NV, Tawnya (Todd) Workman of Syracuse, UT; five grandchildren, Justin, Trevor, Haydn, Camden and Reagan; his sister Esther Haymore of Hurricane, UT, his step-brother James Pagel of Tokyo, Japan and his sister-inlaw Karen Scheele of Fairbury, Nebraska. A viewing will be held at Palm Northwest Mortuary 6701 N. Jones Blvd. on Thurs., June 25, 2015 from 4-7 P.M. A Celebration of Life service will be held on Fri., June 26, 2015 from 1-4 P.M. at Christ Lutheran Church, 111 N. Torrey Pines Drive, LV, NV 89102 with a reception immediately following. LeRoy will be interred at the Christ Lutheran Church Prayer Garden Columbarium. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations be made to Christ Lutheran Church for Lutheran Social Services of Nevada or to a scholarship fund in LeRoy Scheele’s memory at Bonanza High School. Checks for the scholarship can be made out to Public Education Foundation (LeRoy Scheele scholarship) located at 4350 S. Maryland Pkwy LV, NV 89119.