Gale Leek

Published 12:00 am Monday, October 27, 2008

Gale Ellis Leek, 90
Gale Ellis Leek, 90, of Blooming Prairie, Minn. died on Oct. 24, 2008, at the Prairie Manor Nursing Home in Blooming Prairie.
He was born May 14, 1918, the twin son of Albert and Nina (Foland) Leek on the family farm near Burt, Iowa. Gale grew up in Kossuth County, Iowa where he attended school. On July 1, 1941, Gale enlisted in the United States Army, where he was stationed at Camp Lee, Va. for basic training and Fort Benjamin Harrison, Ind. for quartermaster school. After being deployed by ship from Norfolk, Va., he served as a supply Sergeant in North Africa. Exactly three years to the date, he returned from the war. He worked briefly at Abbott Laboratory in Waukegan, Ill. before returning to Iowa to farm. On Feb. 4, 1946, he was united in marriage to Martha Theresa Platt in Waukegan.  The lived and farmed in the Whittemore, Iowa area, where the first two of their six children were born. In 1948, they moved to a farm south of Blooming Prairie, where they raised their family. Gale and Martha continued to live on the family farm until they moved into Blooming Prairie in January of 1988. Martha died on Nov. 11, 1998. Gale continued to live in town, entering Prairie Manor Nursing Home in December of 2007. He was a member of St. Columbanus Catholic Church and VFW Post 878 of Blooming Prairie. Gale enjoyed baseball, bowling, cards, gardening, hunting and fishing, but his passion was farming.
Survivors include his children, Nancy (Jerry) Tsukamoto, Brisbane, Calif., Richard (Jan) Leek, Aloha, Ore., Kathleen Riscoe, Portland, Ore., Karen (Richard) Bisping, Faribault, Shelia (Keith) Leavell, St. Cloud and a daughter-in-law, Ann (Doug) Bruggeman, Blooming Prairie; 13 grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren; brother, Chris (Helen) Olsen, Rochester; sister, Martha Luedtke, Byron; several nieces, nephews and other relatives and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Martha; son, Bruce Leek; two brothers, twin, Garel “Dutch” Leek and Bill Leek.
A mass of Christian burial will be held at 11 a.m., Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2008, at St. Columbanus Catholic Church in Blooming Prairie with Father William Kulas, officiating. Interment will follow the service in St. Columbanus Catholic Cemetery with Military Honors by VFW Post 878 and American Legion Post 52. Visitation will be held from 4 – 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 28, at the Worlein – Blooming Prairie Funeral Home and for one hour prior to the service at the church on Wednesday. A Parish Prayer Service will be held at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008 at the funeral home. Honorary casketbearers will be Gerald Oxley, Bennie Bishop, Clinton Becker, Frank Williamson, Burton Knutson and Barbara Peterson. Casketbearers will be Robert Riscoe, David Leek, Jeremy Leavell, James Leavell, Keith Leavell and Gerald Tsukamoto.

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