Leon Kenneth Ellis

Leon Kenneth Ellis, age 93, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, December 10, 2024. Son of the late Elwood and Marie (Falevesky) Ellis was born in Greenleaf, Wisconsin. Leon served in the United States Army from 1948 to 1952, fighting in the Korean War where he received numerous service medals. He went on to marry the love of his life, Josephine (Trefny) Ellis, spending 62 years together before she passed. They were blessed with six children who will fondly remember their dad as the one who woke them up each morning for school by pulling on their big toe and the parent that took care of his children in the middle of the night when sick or awakened by bad dreams.

Leon worked 37 years for IBM, starting right out of military service as a Customer Engineer in the Typewriter Division, advancing to servicing main frame computers. He had a lot of opportunities to travel in his career and retired as a Product Safety Engineer.

Leon and his wife Jo spent 30 years as active members of the Independent Order of Foresters (IOF), a fraternal organization where he participated in many fund raising and community service activities such as Prevention of Child Abuse, Children’s Miracle Network, and Build-A-Bear Projects. He was elected twice as High Chief Ranger of the High Court overseeing 6 southeastern states and later served seven years on the IOF Board of Directors.

Leon is survived by his brother Alan Ellis; children: Susan Anderson, Janet Daniels, Mitchell Ellis, Charlette Coleman, Patrick Ellis and Jennifer Weathers; grandchildren: Amanda Etheridge, Aaron Daniels, Jimmy Daniels, Rowland Coleman, Kirsten Messina, Cailey Fassett, Brianne Conklin, Ryan Ellis and Taylor Weathers; great grandchildren: Caden Etheridge, Elena Daniels, Colton Daniels, Landon Daniels, Dallas Daniels, Kai Daniels, Navy Daniels, Kaya Coleman, Autumn Fassett, London Fassett, Noah Fassett, Zane Fassett, Theodore Fassett and Liam Conklin.

In addition to his parents and wife Jo, he was preceded in death by his grandson Jason Anderson in 2015 and his sister Marlene Grimmer in 2019.

A small memorial service will be held with family and friends on Thursday, January 16, 2025 at 2:30pm at South Florida National Veterans Cemetery located at 6501 S, State Road 7, Lake Worth, FL 33449 where he will rest in peace next to his wife Jo. In lieu of flowers, those wishing to make memorial contributions may do so to: AGSAA (https://agsaa.org/), PO Box 2821, Crested Butte, CO 81224