Leonard Orville Coleman

Leonard Orville Coleman, 93, went to be with the Lord August 24, 2018. Services will be held 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, August 29, at St. Joseph's Catholic Church, 9656 Elk Road, Elk, Texas, with the Rev. Walter Dhanwar officiating. Visitation will commence at 6:00 p.m., followed by Rosary at 7:00 p.m., on Tuesday, August 28, at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey, 6101 Bosque Blvd, Waco, Texas. Leonard was born July 28, 1925, in Battle, Texas, to Cayce Coleman and Eva Meadors Coleman. Leonard attended Mart schools and graduated at 16 years of age. After graduation, he worked for the USDA Soil Conservation Service, “SCS”, in Waco. Leonard was a proud Texas Aggie and began his college studies in the fall of 1944 at Texas A & M University and worked at Sbisa Dining Hall in order to pay for school. Shortly thereafter, Leonard’s education was interrupted when he was drafted into the US. Army. He served as a Lieutenant with the Army Corps of Engineers in the South Pacific and the occupational forces in post-war Japan. Leonard returned from military service and resumed his studies at A&M, pursuing a degree in Agricultural Engineering. Leonard was a member of the 1948 SWC Championship Fighting Texas Aggie track team and contributed a silver medal performance in the long jump during the championship track meet. Leonard graduated on Friday, June 3, 1949, and resumed working for the SCS in Tulia, Texas, the Monday morning after graduation. Leonard married Elizabeth Julia “Beth” Pechacek in Tours, Texas, on October 23, 1949, and she moved with Leonard to Tulia. Leonard continued working with the SCS; moving from Tulia to Muleshoe and Brownfield, Texas. In 1955, Leonard accepted a job with Gifford Hill Western as an irrigation system design engineer and salesman and moved to Morton, Texas. While working for Gifford Hill, Leonard branched out by purchasing land and began farming cotton and raising cattle. When Gifford Hill exited the irrigation business in the 1970s, Leonard and Burl McCasland bought out the business and opened L & B Supply. In addition, Leonard continued his service to country. He remained active in the Texas National Guard and achieved the rank of Captain prior to retiring from the Guard. Leonard was also elected as a County Commissioner, serving Cochran County in that capacity for 12 years. Leonard retired in 1996 and moved back to McLennan County and the Elk, Texas, community, where he and Beth built their retirement home on the Pechacek family farm. Leonard spent time managing his farming interests in West Texas; impressing family, friends and neighbors with his encyclopedic knowledge of family and local history; and playing a lot of dominoes, “42”, with relatives. Leonard was preceded in death by his son, Leonard O. Coleman, Jr. Leonard is survived by his wife of 68 years, Beth Coleman; sons, Richard Alan Coleman and wife, Adele, and Malcolm W. Coleman and wife, Kerri; grandchildren, Tyler J. Coleman and wife, Jessica, Margaret Elizabeth Coleman, Alexander J. Coleman, and Casey Coleman Goforth and husband, Michael; brother, Robert Coleman and wife, Laverne; and sister-in-law, Nancy Coleman. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Texas A&M Letterman Association, 161 Wellborn Rd, College Station TX 77840. The family invites you to leave a message or memory on our “Tribute Wall” at www.WHBfamily.com.