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Leroy passed on November 8, 1989. He had been in a coma since Dec. 3, 1988. He was a passenger in a car accident about 1 mile north of Harlan, Iowa. He worked for Rail Car Nebraska. Survivors included his parents LeLand and Carolyn Wilson, sister, Kim Houser, and grandmother, Alma Patten.
Interment was at Cedar Lawn Cemetery.
Thank you Anne Allen for the research.
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Harold Petersen
There is not a lot I can say about "Leroy". He and my cousin were pretty much the Cheech and Chung of Kirn and AL. In the six years of running into him in the hallways of both schools, I don't think I ever walked away not laughing. Having him in home room at Kirn never made it dull. None of us were safe from Leroy's teasing and joking. I do believe many of us were receipents of additional homework assignments thanks to his ability to get the entire class to lose it when the teacher's back was turned. Of course the one thing I truely wanted to pay him back for was transforming Harold into Haywold. It never got old hearing it even during the college years and being back on break and walking into a bar. Haywold also meant I was buying. :)
Paul Crane
Awesome Haywold!! I also found Leland to be very funny all of the time! We used to hang with Leland at Mike Hunter's house and ride dirt bikes up behind Skyline Drive before it was developed. Leland always had a smile on his face and the Cheech and Chong reference is a great one!
Kris (Kristel) Endrulat (Mayberry)
"Only the good die young" RIP LW
Terry Cooper
I was going to save my Leroy story until the reunion (kinda like Haywold holding out on the Burkhart incident), but, temptation has gained the best of me. I knew him first as Lee, but I always enjoyed calling him Leroy. It is my Dad's name, also. I learned much from both!
Jerry, Jay, Rick and I shared mornings off our senior year because of the night shift at Shasta. This being said, Jerry and I stepped up and took Bachelor Foods as our first class in our last semester. Leroy was there, too. Our favorite lesson--other than the final: beef on the grill in the courtyard--was, brownies. Rumor had it Leroy's had an extra ingredient. When queried, his rye smile and sparkling eyes gave room for speculation, but he was not telling. The only certainty was all evidence would be consumed immediately after the bell.
It would be over eleven years later while imbibing with my future wife's (Michelle) uncle, Wayne, at a bar on the square in Harlan, doors wide open and people falling in and out, I heard that low chuckle erupting into a no-holds-barred belly laugh that always turned our heads in the hallway...Leroy was in town! It appeared he had met a young lady and enjoyed the night life in Harlan with her. We proceeded into the evening, and the wee hours, laughing, drinking, consuming until sun-up. Of course, the brownies were mentioned. Even then, Leroy would only say his extra was of liquid (but not too liquid) form. As I have said before, I say again, I know we had a good time, most of which I can't remember.
I left Harlan to return to CB. I would not see Leroy again, but I did cross paths with Michelle, and only weeks after reconnecting, I would receive a phone call from my parents about the accident on Highway 59 that had claimed Leroy's life. Michelle and I would marry in 1991, begin having a boatload of kids, lose Wayne in 2002 and my dear wife in May this year
Today, all irony aside, I know I started this as a memory to Leroy. Forgive my rabbit trail, please? But, to know Leroy, Wayne and Michelle are gone from this earth, and still so much a part at different parts of my life. We are all connected in ways we cannot fathom at any passing moment, but see clearly looking back. For me, being at this reunion is certainly not necessary; being at this reunion is wanted. I look forward to seeing you all: sharing and creating new memories, keeping the circle unbroken. Until then....