Robert Roy Leonard

.Robert Roy Leonard, 82 years old, passed away on Tuesday, August 19, 2014 at his home in Huntsville. Born and raised in Philadelphia, PA., he was the only child of Harry and Margaret Leonard. He was preceded in death by his wife of 46 years, Joan Faith Leonard. In January 1953 he earned a bachelor of science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University, and as a graduate of the university ROTC program, he was commissioned in the Army as a 2nd Lt. After graduation, he worked briefly for Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in Akron, OH. At Goodyear he was a member of their engineer training program before being called to active duty at Fort Knox, KY in early April 1953. His assignment at Fort Knox ended shortly thereafter with his reassignment to Korea. As a member of the 25th Infantry Division, he left Korea in August 1954 when the Division was reassigned to Schofield Barracks, Oahu, Hawaii. During this assignment he married Joan, whom he had met while stationed at Fort Knox and she was attending the University of Kentucky. Following his tour in Hawaii, he had successive assignments as an ROTC instructor at Lafayette College, Eaton, PA. and three tours at Redstone Arsenal, first with the Ordnance Guided Missile School, then the Combat Development Command and then a spilt tour with the Safeguard System Command and the U.S. Army Missile Command. Interspersed among the three tours at Redstone Arsenal were assignments in Germany, a second tour in Korea and a tour in Vietnam where he served as advisor to a South Korean Infantry Division. He also served as Chief, NIKE-X field office, Norton AFB, San Bernadino CA, and later as Deputy Commander, Kwajalein Missile Range, Marshall Islands. He was a graduate of both the Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk VA., and the Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, KS. His service awards include the Legion of Merit , Bronze Star Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal ( Korea ), the Korean and United Nations Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Vietnam Gallantry Cross w/Palm, the Meritorious Service Medal and the Army Commendation Medal. He retired from the Military as a lieutenant colonel in January 1979 while serving with the Army Missile Command. He began his second career as Assistant Executive Director, Society of Logistics Engineers ( SOLE ), a 10,000 member organization headquartered in Huntsville. He later served eight years as the Executive Director of SOLE before retiring in 1992 when its Headquarters moved to Washington, D.C. After retirement, he became active in several community organizations where he served on various committees, and later as President of the Huntsville/ Madison County Clean Community System, and the Huntsville Association of Technical Societies ( HATS ). He was a member of the United Church of Huntsville, Elks Lodge 1648, Eagles Aerie 3263, VFW Post 2702, and American Legion Post 1, Paris France. He is survived by two sons; Robert M. Leonard and his wife Linda of Vallejo, CA., and Craig S. Leonard and his wife Darlene of Cullman, AL, and eight grandchildren; Tiffany, Mary Kathrine, Stephanie, Matthew, Jonathon, Jeffery, Karissa, and Faith and two great grandchildren. A memorial service will be held on Friday, August 29, 2014 at 2:00 PM at the United Church of Huntsville with Rev. Dr. Robert Hurst officiating. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the United Church of Huntsville, 7906 Whitesburg Drive, Huntsville, AL. 35802 or to the American Cancer Society.