Leo at the 2011 U.S.A.R.D. Convention

Below is the announcement from Leo’s wife, Bettye:

Dear Friends,

Some of you know that Leo lived with Dementia the past five-plus years.  He was doing well until the past few weeks when it became more and more difficult for him to swallow.  That is the horrible last stage act of Dementia with Lewy Bodies.  He was a trooper and always tried those last few days.  We celebrated Leo’s 79th birthday on September 25th.

With a sad heart I share with you that Leo passed away Tuesday, October 14, around 9PM.  When Leo’s sister Dianne went to tell him goodbye before she and Bill left to drive back to Mississippi she noted that he was “gone”.  I confirmed it and we cried for a moment together.  Just five days prior I signed up with at-home hospice care to be sure that he was comfortable and pain-free.

Leo was cremated and will be buried in a few weeks in my family’s space in Coalville, MS.  At that time I will have his obituary printed in the Times-Picayune and hopefully copied to The Houston Chronicle where he and Barbara, his first wife, lived for many years, and his son and his family currently live.

To our junior drum and bugle corps members, you will remember Leo was a snare drummer and a fun loving guy.  Those years in drum corps is a highlight in many of our lives.  To Leo’s friends at Continental Airlines he was a nice guy and fellow IT.  To personal friends you remember the kind of man he was.  Each of us has our memories of Leo.  I hope that they are pleasant.

God bless each of you.

For Leo’s Obituary, CLICK HERE

Bettye Pembo Ehrhard