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Obituary for Leonard J. Holsapple
Leonard J. Holsapple passed away at his home in Brookings on April 4, 2012. He was 96. Leonard was born January 27, 1916 in Divide County, North Dakota the oldest of eleven children to Benjamin and Lavada (Lumsted) Holsapple. The family moved to Minnesota where Leonard attended school only until the 8th grade when, at the onset of the Great Depression, he was forced to go to work to help support the family. Though a lack of formal education would not stop Leonard from becoming a very learned man in his life, he felt very strongly that his children and grandchildren go to college – of which all have. Leonard married Amy Gunderson on October 2, 1939 in Brainerd, Minn. The conclusion of WWII found Leonard being drafted into the US Army Air Corps where he served as a POW guard in the Phillipines. Following an honorable discharge, he returned home and he and Amy moved back to California. He spent most of his career as a millwright and machinist for Collins Products at their Chester, Calif. plant. He and Amy lived in Chester for 62 years. They moved to Grants Pass briefly before moving to Brookings in 2005. Leonard loved taking care of his garden. Their home in Chester often looked like a park given the attention Leonard placed in it. He also loved to read. Retirement for Leonard and Amy was traveling around the country visiting different segments of the family. Leonard’s pride and joy was his family to whom he was a devoted husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather. Survivors include his wife of 72 years, Amy Holsapple of Brookings, daughters, Florence Savercool of Brookings and Joy Larsen of Yakima, Wash., son and daughter-in-law, Lester and Sharon Holsapple of Missoula, Mont., grandchildren, Teresa, Scott, Heather, Kate, Jim and John, greatgrandchildren, Ariel, Crystal, Jonas and Sam, great-great granddaughter, Katelyn. Leonard was preceded in death by a son-in-law, Herbert Savercool, three brothers and three sisters. Services will be held at a later date in Chester, Calif.
