Davenport Lutheran Living Communities facility.
Visitation will be at Runge Mortuary in Davenport on Friday, August 9 th from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Funeral Service will be 10 a.m. on Saturday, August 10 th at Trinity Lutheran Church 1122 W.
Central Park, Davenport, Iowa. The burial will be at Davenport Memorial Park. Memorials may be designated to Trinity Lutheran Church or School, or to Lutheran Living Communities, Davenport location.
Leo A. Marolf was born on April 13, 1926, in Blue Earth, Minnesota, the son of Walter and Caroline (Grunder) Marolf. He was baptized and confirmed at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Blue Earth. The family moved to Davenport, Iowa in December 1941, just prior to the United States entering WWII. He was a 1944 graduate of Davenport High School. Leo was drafted into the U.S. Army and spent two years in the Pacific Theater. He was in the Philippine Islands when the atomic bomb ended the war in August 1945. After serving time in occupied Japan, he was honorably discharged and returned to Davenport.
Leo graduated from the University of Iowa in 1951, majoring in fine arts. In 1953 he was joined in marriage to Melva L. Kardel at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Davenport. He then enrolled at the University of Illinois and graduated with honors in Architecture in 1958. Leo was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. He was awarded the Ryerson Traveling Fellowship in Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Leo brought his wife and two-year-old son with him while traveling and studying throughout Europe.
In 1958 he joined William Stuhr Architecture in Rock Island and began his architectural career. Following Mr. Stuhr’s retirement, Howard Parkhurst, William Appier, Walter Mogler, and Leo Marolf bought the firm and renamed it Mogler, Parkhurst, Appier, & Marolf Architects. Leo sold the firm to Schulz Gowey Architects and remained as a partner until his retirement in 1998. As a partner and owner of the firm, Leo designed many projects in the Quad Cities and throughout the state of Illinois. Some of the buildings he designed were The First National Bank of Rock Island, the former Bituminous Casualty Headquarters, American Bank in Rock Island, Lock and Dam 15 Visitors Center, and the iconic Augustana Planetarium and Union Buildings.
Leo also served in many community and leadership roles in the Quad Cities. He was the Scout Master for Troop 56 in Davenport for many years. He was a member of the Davenport Optimist Club and Rock Island Rotary Club. He served his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ at Trinity Lutheran Church as an elder, Chairman of the Board, School Board member, and Adult Choir member.
He was an avid hunter and fisherman and loved to travel. He visited all 50 states, traveled across Southern Canada, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Leo brought his camera with him on all his adventures and upon returning from travel, he would turn the pictures he took into drawings, paintings, or models.
In 2023 he celebrated 70 years of marriage with his wife Melva.
Survivors include his wife of 70 years, Melva (Kardel) Marolf, son Todd (Kelly) Marolf of Prescott, AZ; and daughters Rebecca (Dave) Knudson of Ames, IA; Dr. Mary (Jason) Frost of Davenport, IA; and Anne Marolf of Davenport, IA. He is also survived by 11 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Walter and Caroline (Grunder) Marolf, brother Waldo Marolf and wife Joann (Hess), sister Betty and husband Edmund Happel, brother Arnold Marolf, and grandson Jonathon Marolf.
The family would like to thank all the staff at the Davenport Lutheran Living Communities and St. Croix Hospice for their tender and loving care of Leo.
