Leo Louis Lehner

Leo Louis Lehner, age 82, who can be counted among the most decent and principled of people, walked a straight and narrow path during his time on earth. Leo’s most enduring legacy to his family is the respect they have for him and the pride they take in his life of uncompromising character and honesty.

While we will miss his vitality and his friendship, it is comforting to imagine that he is reunited with Eva, his wife, and his son Tom, both of whom preceded him in death.

Intellectually gifted, Leo enjoyed a wide range of activities. In addition to family life, he was deeply involved with computers, ham radio, and all things electronic; he invented devices for which he held patents, both during his work years and after retirement. Leo enjoyed tennis and archery and even the guitar, and he had an endless supply of corny puns and jokes. He went camping regularly with his family and friends and was an ardent sailor and motorcyclist, finding much beauty in mountains, desert, and ocean.

His childhood was spent in Memphis, Tennessee with his parents and two sisters. After graduating from college prep (valedictorian) and Georgia Tech (cum laude), he began his military service with the U. S. Army. On a furlough the following summer, Leo and Eva Cox, his high school friend and college sweetheart, were married. Their union endured for 55 years and was blessed with six children.

Most of his working years were spent at Motorola as an electrical engineer in Phoenix, Az. The strong work ethic of his professional career found a parallel in his single-minded devotion to his wife as her health declined.

In the years following retirement Leo began his struggle to hold onto fragments of the past as Alzheimer’s began to erode his most cherished memories. Dreading the ordeal that lay ahead, he turned for strength to the faith that had been a part of his life since early childhood, and through simple trust in his Creator he found the courage to face the end of life.

He is survived by his sons Leo Henry (Carol), Louis (Gina), Carl, and Eric; daughter Shirley Rhoades (Gary) and granddaughter Rebecca; sister Mary Lehner, his brother-in-law Bill Cox and sister-in-law Connye Peterson; several nephews and nieces; and a handful of good and true friends who were attentive to him to the end and in whose company he enjoyed a camaraderie that was very precious to him.

Funeral services will be held at 10:00 AM on Thursday, October 27, 2011 at St Thomas More, 6180 W Utopia, Glendale AZ. He will be interred with Eva at a later date.