Charles Wayne Leo
Charles Wayne Leo passed away peacefully at Sunrise Hill Nursing Center in Traer on December 4, 2021. Wayne was born on December 28, 1919 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the son of Charles and Elsie Leo. He graduated from Dysart High School in 1937 and Iowa State College in 1942 with a degree in Agricultural Engineering.
He was united in marriage to Neva P. Peterson on April 22, 1943 in New Haven, Connecticut. Wayne joined the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1943 and served as an officer in Italy obtaining the rank of captain. After the war he worked as an engineer for TWA in Kansas City and moved back to the family farm southeast of Dysart in 1947. He farmed until 1990 when he retired at the age of 70. In the Fall of 2014 he and Neva moved to Traer Sunrise Terrace Independent Living where he lived until a month before his death.
Wayne was known as a steward of the land and was proud of the many conservation awards he earned. He loved dancing and playing cridge and travelling and he and Neva travelled many times to Asia. He especially loved wintering in Hawaii where he completed in (and medaled in) many walking races. He loved water skiing and swimming at Holiday Lake and kept fit by walking – sometimes to and from Dysart – and later around Traer. He served many years on the Farmers Cooperative Telephone board and was active in the Dysart United Methodist Church. He was recently honored on the 80th anniversary of his membership in the Ascalon Masonic Lodge. Wayne and Neva were lifelong Cyclone fans and supporters of Iowa State and in 1993 a scholarship was established in their honor. This is given yearly to a graduating Union High School student who will be attending ISU. Memorials can be donated to the Wayne and Neva Leo Family Scholarship Fund @the ISU foundation. Memorials can also be given to the Dysart Tree Fund which maintains the C.R. Roberts walking trail.
Wayne is preceded in death by his wife, Neva, and his sister, Lucy Ione.
He is survived by his two children, Ken Leo (Lorie) of North Liberty and Lyn Hopkins (David) of Dysart, four grandsons and nine great-grandchildren who lovingly referred to him as “Pops”.
Wayne has donated his body to the University of Iowa Medical School. His family will host a Celebration of Life at a later date.