William "Bill" Morris Leonard

William Morris “Bill” Leonard 92, passed away March 23, 2023 at his home in Des Moines, IA.

Hey, I’m writing my own obit – telling the story my way. With luck I’ll get most of it right.

Born 31 March 1930, Red Oak, Ia., I grew up in Lincoln, Neb., graduated Nebraska U ag college, joined the Army, came home from the Korean War and, with an Army buddy, bought (cheap) and rebuilt an aging lodge in the Colorado Rockies. Had few patrons except for Sunday nights, when our smorgasbord/square dance drew 100-plus. Took us three years to go broke. But we had fun.

Spent the next 43 years newspapering---Nebraska, Kansas, South Dakota and finally The Des Moines Register. Spent six weeks in 1968 in the Chicago West Side ghetto hoping to write a piece about a Black Advancement project – a plan sidetracked when we were torched by arsonists in the riots following the assassination of Martin Luther King.

In 30 years of editorial writing at The Register I worked with some great, conscientious people, notably Gil Cranberg, one-time national board member of the American Civil Liberties Union, and Charlie Ransom, who knew the answer to any question worth asking.

At age 40 I started running, and kept at it for almost 40 years, 33,000 miles, including six marathons after age 50 (best time: 3:42---hey, I didn’t say I was good at it). Then I broke my hip.

Met my wife-to-be Lois on an Iowa Sierra Club canoe trip. Both divorcees, we spent 42 cozy years together in our little house west of downtown by the old Rock Island Railroad tracks, surrounded by terrific neighbors, who in recent times were always available when my cancer called for help. Our Unitarian Church friends were solid and sincere supporters.

Lois’ three kids, Steve, Jamie and Jeff, succeeded admirably in a variety of pursuits, and raised seven grandkids; the great-grands are still coming. Our social lives generally involved outdoor ventures, with primary targets in Colorado and Minnesota. Bob and Carol Leslie of Altoona, decades-long friends, shared weekend and week-long treks. Bob, a career trucker, and I spent long hours over late campfires and beer, solving the problems of the world. (But the minute we turned our backs, the politicians wrecked everything again.)

Both my older brothers, Dr. Paul and Dave, established noteworthy service in careers at the Mayo Clinic before preceding me in death.

It’s nothing to boast about, but my life was one for which I am deeply grateful and thankful – and I can’t gripe about cancer, given near 88 of my 92 years without it. I will never forgive my generation of its absurd ignoring of the once-solvable problem of climate change, leaving our survivors with bleak prospects. But if I started preaching on that one, this obit would never end.

Happy Future. Bye.

Bill’s life will be celebrated on Saturday, April 15, 2023 at the First Unitarian Church of Des Moines, 1800 Bell Avenue in Des Moines at 3:00 p.m. with visitation one hour prior. Refreshments will follow the service.

Condolences may also be expressed to the family at www.HamiltonsFuneralHome.com.

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