Roger Lee Leonhardt

Roger Lee Leonhardt, 67, of Blaine, died Saturday, September 12, 2020, surrounded by his loving family.  He was born August 31, 1953, in Lake City, to Alwin and Elsie (Mickow) Leonhardt.  He graduated from Lincoln High School in 1972 and went on to attend Mankato Vocational School.  Moving to the Twin Cities, he began working for Lutheran Brotherhood as a computer operator.  On December 30, 1986, he was united in marriage to Kolette Holt in Las Vegas, Nevada.  They lived in Minneapolis before making their home in Blaine.  When Lutheran Brotherhood merged with Thrivent, Roger switched careers and began working in custodial services for the Spring Lake Park Schools, retiring in 2015.

Roger was an outdoorsman, and enjoyed fishing and hunting.  Though he and Kolette lived in the Twin Cities, Roger loved coming back to Lake City and enjoyed going to Water Ski Days, rafting the Zumbro River and seeing all his relatives in the area.  After retirement, he and Kolette were able to build a retirement/summer home in Lake City.

A cancer diagnosis in 2018 prompted Roger to make the most of his time left with his family.  They bought an RV and they were able to travel the US, visiting many national parks and making new and very precious memories along the way.  The birth of his first grandson, Brady, something he was not sure he would be able to witness, proved to be a true blessing for Roger and he was able to relish in the past 20 months with him. His family, above all, was most important to Roger.

His will be dearly missed by his wife, Kolette, of Blaine; 2 sons, Bruce Leonhardt of Burnsville and Brian (Brittany) Leonhardt of Circle Pines; grandson, Brady; 3 brothers, Gayle (Sue) Leonhardt of Lake City, Larry Leonhardt of Kellogg and Lee Leonhardt of Lake City and many nieces, nephews and great-nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by an infant sister, Frances; his parents; sister-in-law, Diane Leonhardt and his best friend, Ralph Pruter.

Graveside service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020 at Lakewood Cemetery in Lake City.  Visitation will be from 5-7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18, at the Mahn Family Funeral Home, Anderson Peterson Chapel.  Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.mahnfamilyfuneralhome.com