LEONARD POWELL Obituary

LEONARD F. POWELL, Jr. 
October 1, 1923 - January 17, 2016 

LAKELAND - Leonard Forrest Powell, Jr. died on January 17, 2016, at the age of 92. As they heard the news, those who knew him, and they were many, felt that their lives had become a little emptier. 
He was born and raised in Augusta, Georgia, and enrolled at the University of Georgia at the age of 17. He belonged to The Greatest Generation and there was a war going on, so before he completed his degree he withdrew from college and tried to join the Army, but was rejected because of partial blindness in one eye. Undeterred, he memorized the eye chart and applied again successfully. 
After serving in the Philippines he returned home, and at a USO dance he pointed out a young girl with dark hair which fell below her waist and told his friend that he was going to marry her. He did. 
When he proposed to 18-year old Marian Hogan, he told her that he couldn't promise she would ever be rich, but he promised she would never be bored. Fifty years later on their anniversary trip to Verona, Italy, he knelt on the sidewalk in front of the Casa di Giullietta (Juliet's house,) took his wife's hand, and asked if he had kept his promise. He had. 
The Bachelor's degree he earned after the war was in business administration, but the world of commerce held no allure for him. He had a penchant for languages and a burning desire to become a member of that noblest of callings, a teacher. He took his family to Monterrey, Mexico, for a summer so he could attend an immersion language school at the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey. Two of his children later attended that school. He earned a Master of Arts in Language Teaching at Ole Miss and for better than 25 years challenged the minds and inspired the ambitions of thousands of teenagers while teaching them Spanish at Kathleen High School in Lakeland. A compassionate listener and a giver of practical advice, he became mentor, confidant, father confessor, and champion for many of his students, helping them navigate the precarious paths of teen romance, comforting them through family tragedies, shepherding them into adulthood. He was guest of honor at class reunions every year until his death. 
After a second heart bypass surgery his doctor told him he must retire, so he did and spent the next 20 years traveling the world with his constant companion whom he lovingly referred to as Lady Marian. Neither of them ever met a stranger and they forged friendships across the globe as they visited every state capital in the country, traveled extensively in Canada and Mexico, toured England, most of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and the Philippines, where he renewed acquaintance with a man whom he had befriended as a boy during the war. 
From the time he was a teenager he was known for his skill on the dance floor, and he never lost his moves. At the age 91 at his youngest grandson's wedding, to the delight of the crowd he danced the Electric Slide with the bridesmaids and didn't miss a step. When he preceded the newlyweds out the door as they made their grand exit he received an ovation that rivaled the applause for the wedding couple. 
In his last years he often said that he had lived a full and happy life and had no regrets. The regret belongs to those who remain: though we had you for so long, it was not long enough. 
He joins his Lady Marian, who preceded him in shuffling off this mortal coil. The family he leaves as his legacy, comprising assorted children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and associated spouses and significant others, includes Tom Powell and Jeannie Becker-Powell, Lenny Powell, Marilyn and Robin Kempink, Shea Powell and Becky Sanders, Brandea and Keith Averett, Chris Kempink and Christina Chappell, Corey Kempink, Chase and Mary Powell, Katey Kempink, Ashley Powell, Ryleigh Averett, Evan Kempink, Georgia Powell, Luke Averett, Sydney Averett, and Kyleigh Sanders. 
Interment will be at Lakeland Memorial Gardens, 2125 S. Bartow Hwy with viewing from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Friday, January 22nd and a memorial service at 2:00 p.m., Saturday, January 23rd. 
All who knew him or wish they had are invited to attend.
 

Published by The Ledger from Jan. 20 to Jan. 21, 2016.

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