David A. Leonard

David Arthur Leonard, a devoted husband, loving father, and fun-loving grandfather and great-grandfather passed away on March 12, 2026, at the age of 95.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Donna Leonard who passed away in 2010. David and Donna were married in 1977 and had 33 wonderful years together.

David is survived by his 3 children, 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren: daughter Denise Dittell (Steve Coffman) of Apache Junction, AZ; and sons Mike (Angela) Leonard of Rantoul, IL and Steve Leonard of Rantoul, IL. David was preceded in death in by his sons Tom Leonard and Paul Leonard; daughter Patti Foster; and 3 grandchildren.

David is also survived by 5 step-children, 9 step-grandchildren and 3 great step-grandchildren: step-daughters Debra Nauman of Darien, IL; Tami (Jim) Engel of Champaign, IL; Lori “Cooky”(Mike) McLeod of Knoxville, TN; Mary Gerdts (Douglas McKinney) of Paradise Valley, AZ; and step-son John (Julie) Gerdts of Sapphire, NC.

David was born David Arthur Leonard on October 29, 1930, in Wakefield, OH, one of 8 children of David and Ernestine Leonard, who preceded him in death. David is survived by his siblings: Charlie (Joyce) Leonard of Westerville, OH; Jennie (Danny) Scrivner of Eldon, MO; Barbara Bauer of Dayton, OH; Wilma Forsha of Dayton, OH; Terry (Arleeta) Leonard of Dresden, OH. David was preceded in death by his sister Marilyn Martin and his brother Paul Leonard.

David served in the Army from 1950-1953 where he was a certified paratrooper in the 82ndAirborne Division in Fort Bragg, North Carolina during the Korean War. He then enlisted in the United States Air Force (USAF) Reserve where he served from 1956-1963. David furthered his military commitment by enlisting as active duty in the USAF where he served from 1963-1979, serving at Hickman AFB in Hawaii from 1964-1966, Misawa AFB in Japan from 1966-1967 and Bitburg AFB in Germany from 1970-1974. David retired in 1979 at the rank of E-6 Technical Sergeant at Scott AFT in Belleville, IL. He completed his 30-year military career in the armed forces in 1983 after serving in the inactive USAF reserves.

For most of his civilian career, Dave worked at Supervalu Inc (formerly J.M. Jones) from 1981-1996 and retired after 15 years. Dave was known as “Sarge” at work and truly loved his job and the people he worked with.

David was a member of Holy Cross Church for many years, and the family extends a heartfelt thank you in advance for any donations made to Holy Cross in David’s memory.

A Celebration of David’s life will begin with a visitation service at 9:30-10:30 a.m. on Friday, March 27th at Owens Funeral Home, 101 N. Elm Street, Champaign. The celebration will continue with a Funeral Mass at 11:00 a.m. at Holy Cross Catholic Church, 405 W. Clark St., Champaign. The funeral will be followed by a graveside service at St. Elizabeth Cemetery in Thomasboro and the celebration will conclude with a gathering of gratitude with friends and family immediately following the graveside service at the Baxter’s American Grille, 100 Trade Center Drive, Champaign.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of David A. Leonard, please visit our floral store.