Leonard Lahr passed away peacefully on January 25, 2020, at Angelhaus, surrounded by his family.
Mass of Christian burial will be 11:00 a.m., Thursday, January 30, 2020, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 11 2nd Avenue West, Westport, SD, with Father Patrick Grode, Celebrant. Military rites will immediately follow Mass.
Burial will take place at Wayside Cemetery in Frederick, SD.
Schriver’s Memorial Mortuary & Crematory, 414 5th Avenue NW, Aberdeen, is in charge of arrangements.
Visitation will be 5-7 p.m., Wednesday, at the mortuary, with a liturgical wake service beginning at 7:00 p.m. Visitation continues one hour prior to Mass at the church on Thursday.
Family and friends may sign Leonard’s online guestbook and also view his service via the live stream service link at www.schriversmemorial.com.
Leonard A. Lahr was the son of Joseph and Catherine (Hoffman) Lahr, born on a farm west of Frederick on October 27, 1926, the second youngest of ten children.
Leonard attended school in Barnard and later joined the Navy in 1945. He served in the Pacific on the USS Gleaves, USS Sculptor, and USS Rowe during WWII and was honorably discharged in July 1946. Leonard returned to South Dakota after the war and earned his GED. He worked at the Homestake Gold Mine and then as a farm hand, as well as going south to combine.
Leonard married Dorothy Pence on October 14, 1950, in Hecla. They lived in Aberdeen and worked for the same insurance company. Dorothy was hired when she accompanied Leonard to his job interview. They later moved to Frederick, where Leonard managed the pool hall until they leased a farm. In 1960, they purchased a farm west of Frederick, raising cattle and sheep and did crop farming. Leonard also did custom spraying and baling and was the first farmer in the area to order a round baler from the Successful Farmer. He continued to raise cattle until age 85.
Leonard enjoyed hunting and fishing and is still listed in the Boone and Crockett Club Records for the trophy antelope he shot in 1967. He was also very involved in his community, serving as a supervisor on the Palmyra Township Board approximately 30 years; being a member of the Lynn G. Peterson American Legion Post #273 for over 70 years; and holding membership in the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Leonard was a member of the National Farmers Organization and he helped support the grassroot effort in bringing WEB water to the rural region by providing education to local households.
Grateful for having shared Leonard’s life are his wife, Dorothy; daughters: Susan Lahr (Gordon Niva), Tracy (Dominic) Wolf and Jodi (Brian) Ricklefs; grandchildren, Cody (Jenna) Ricklefs and Brianna Ricklefs; his great grandson, Chase Ricklefs; sister, Irene Kopetsky; sister-in-law, Marilyn Lahr; and several nieces and nephews.
Preceding Leonard in death is his son, Roger; parents, Catherine and Joseph Lahr; brothers: Edmund, Peter, William, and Anthony; sisters: Erma Burkhartzmeyer, Reinelda “Nellie” Ostgard, Marie Voeller, and Vera Kopetsky.
Leonard should be remembered for how he, and his wife and children, created a successful life on the tough Dakota Plains through hard work, faith, and family.
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