COMFREY - Leander "Leon" Schwaegerl, 79, of Comfrey, died Sunday, March 15, 2009, at the Springfield Medical Center Hospital.
Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 18, at the St. Paul Catholic Church in Comfrey, with Father Andy Michels officiating. Burial will be at the St. Paul Catholic Cemetery. Military Honors will be provided by Albin Johnson American Legion Post #244.
Visitation will be 4-8 p.m. Tuesday, March 17 at Sturm Funeral Home in Comfrey, and will continue for one hour prior to services at the church on Wednesday. There will be a Parish Prayer Service at 8p.m. on Wednesday at the funeral home.
Condolences may be sent via e-mail to www.sturmfh.com.
Arrangements are with Sturm Funeral Home in Comfrey.
Leander Peter Schwaegerl, (L.P.) was born March 21, 1929, in Springfield, the son of Henry and Julia (Lenertz) Schwaegerl. Leon lived his first five years in Springfield, then moved to Comfrey where he was a lifelong resident thereafter. He attended St. Paul Catholic School and graduated from Comfrey High School in 1947. Leon was united in marriage to Marjorie Bollig on November 4, 1950, at St. Paul Catholic Church.
He served in the U.S. Army from January 1951 to December 1952 during the Korean Conflict and would later become a 50-year member of the American Legion. Leon worked for several Comfrey businesses including Bose Ford and Reinhardt Implement, and then became owner/operator of the Standard Oil station. He also worked for St. James Bottling Plant as a delivery driver. He then found his life's work in owning and operating Gamble's hardware store, which later became True Value. Leon retired in 1994. He was a longtime bus driver for the Comfrey School District having driven the Darfur route and to several extracurricular activities.
Leon was a member of St. Paul Catholic Church, the Knights of Columbus, and the Albin Johnson American Legion Post #244. He was also a member of Civil Defense, served as treasurer for Commercial Club, and was a board member of Comfrey Apartments. Leon enjoyed playing cards, reading, fishing, traveling, bird feeding (pity the poor squirrels that came around!), and following the Minnesota Twins. He especially enjoyed golfing with the grandkids.
He is survived by wife Marjorie; daughter, Cheri (Scott) Drever of Granada; sons, Greg (Robin) Schwaegerl of Montevideo, Jeff (special friend Hae Sook Kim) Schwaegerl of Golden Valley, and Steve (Debbie) Schwaegerl of New London; grandchildren, Adam, Nick, Mark, Jon, Andy, Tom, Erica and Jack; great-grandchildren, Brenden and Cody; brother, Jim (Joyce) Schwaegerl of Redwood Falls; sister-in-law, Bernie Schwaegerl of Spicer; and many other relatives and friends.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Henry and Julia; and brother Don.
