Leonard Paul Paulitz

On August 24, 2021, Leonard entered his eternal rest after a long life of service to his family, church and the community of Montclair, surrounded by five of his six children. He was living independently in the family home until the time of his death, thanks to his caregivers, friends, family and neighbors. He would have turned 95 in three weeks. He was born in Farrell, Pennsylvania, son of John Paulitz and Theresa Weiss, ethnic German immigrants from Hungary. He was the ninth of ten children. The U.S. Army drafted Leonard for WWII during his senior year of high school. He served as a cryptographer in Missouri, California and other stateside locations. Leonard attended Gannon College in Erie, Pennsylvania on the GI bill, and graduated with a degree in accounting in 1950. He met Constance Marie Howard, a nurse working at the VA Hospital in Erie, Pennsylvania. They married on August 21,1954 in Ashtabula, Ohio. Gregory, Timothy, and Patricia were born in Pennsylvania. The family moved to California in 1960 and to the house in Montclair, where he lived the rest of his life. In California, Kevin, Carol and Patrick joined the family. Leonard worked for General Dynamics as a computer programmer and systems analyst until his retirement in 1988. Leonard enjoyed gardening and tending to his citrus trees. He was a board member of the Reeder Foundation and help start the Montclair Community Garden and Orchard. Leonard liked to go camping with his family and friends, first in a tent trailer and later in a motorhome. He loved to eat lunch at the Montclair Senior Center and visit with his friends.

One of his passions was local politics. He officially served the City of Montclair for 49 years but, was still unofficially involved in politics for another six years. He was on the Planning Commission from 1965-1977 and then served on the City Council from 1978-2014, the longest-serving council person in San Bernardino County. He represented the County of San Bernardino on the South Coast Air Quality Management District Governing Board; and the City of Montclair on the San Bernardino Association of Governments (SANBAG), Omnitrans, and League of California Cities, just to name a few. He had a major impact on the City of Montclair and its quality of life. He helped transform the city with the Montclair Plaza, beautifying streets like Holt Blvd, and obtaining state and federal funds for many projects including underpasses, sewers, Montclair Youth Center, Montclair Police Station and his beloved Montclair Senior Center. A more complete record of his accomplishments can be found at https://www.cityofmontclair.org/the-passing-of-council-member-emeritus-leonard-paulitz/

and https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.dailybulletin.com/2021/08/30/former-montclair-city-councilman-leonard-paulitz-dies-at-age-94/__;!!JmPEgBY0HMszNaDT!51OkNjMGHiSnaZ_GiSajWcjUkOVo7GJ8JlDwYFtPh0pD7RUIMUDe9XGUDELVgog$.

Leonard was the political mentor to many who followed in his footsteps. His political philosophy was one of cooperation and coalition building. He said “One thing I found out is you’ve got to be polite and considerate and friendly to everyone all the time. Not just during election time. Treat everyone the same and you will be OK.”

Leonard was passionate about family ancestry and genealogy. He established contacts with his relatives in Hungary, Canada and Sweden and visited his parents' village in Hungary many times with his children and grandchildren from 1982 until 2018. He extensively researched his family tree, always trying to fill in the missing pieces. Leonard was dedicated to his parish, Our Lady of Lourdes in Montclair, and to Our Lady of Lourdes School, that his children attended. He highly valued education, was inquisitive and was a wide reader and thinker, right to the very end. He shared his experience and knowledge of finances. He earned a Master's Degree from Cal Poly Pomona and taught Systems Analysis at Cal Poly before his retirement.

Leonard was predeceased by his wife Constance, whom he cared for at home for the last three years of her life, while she suffered from dementia. Previously deceased were his parents, John and Theresa, brothers Floyd, John and Fred, and sisters Theresa, Elizabeth, Catherine, Ann, Louise and Mary; daughters-in-law Theresa Quinlan and April Lee and great-granddaughter McKenzie Huisman. He is survived by his children Gregory (Roberta Hartley), Timothy (Nancy Nydegger), Patricia Bernens (Joseph), Kevin (Theresa Quinlan, d., fiancée Rachel Schneider), Carol Tully (Kevin), and Patrick (April Lee, d). He is survived by 13 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Donations can be made in Leonard’s name to: Our Lady of Lourdes School (Our Lady of Lourdes School - MONTCLAIR, CA | Online Giving (osvhub.com),

https://www.osvhub.com/ollschool/funds

Sisters of the Presentation of Blessed Virgin Mary (https://pbvmunion.org/donate/),

https://pbvmunion.org/donate/

Anthesis (formally Pomona Valley Workshop; Donate Today! (salsalabs.org),

https://anthesis.salsalabs.org/donationpageupdate2020/index.html

Gannon University (http://gannon.edu/give)

http://gannon.edu/give

The funeral mass will be at 11 a.m. on Oct. 1, 2021 at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, 10191 Central Ave, Montclair, CA. Services will be inside the church and also live-streamed to the garden outside of the church, for those who choose not to be inside.