Leonard Earl Cherry

Leonard Earl Cherry April 16, 1921-October 27, 2016 Leonard Earl Cherry of Waco passed away Thursday, October 27, 2016. A memorial service will be 1:30 p.m., Friday, November 4, at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey, 6101 Bosque Blvd., Waco, TX 76710. Family visitation will be 5:00-6:30 p.m., Thursday, November 3, at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey. Leonard was born April 16, 1921, in Humble, Texas, to Leonard and Mary Ruth Jackson Cherry. The family soon moved to Muldoon, Texas, where “Earl”, as he was known in his younger years, grew up. He graduated from Flatonia High School and moved to Austin, where he learned the auto body repair trade. He married his high school sweetheart, Hazel Brown in Muldoon on January 17, 1942. When World War II began, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps, the forerunner to the U.S. Air Force, and became a B-24 bomber pilot. He was stationed at Carswell Army Air Corps base in Ft. Worth where he trained others to become pilots of the B-24. After Germany surrendered, he was trained to fly the B-29 bomber in preparation for the invasion of Japan, but the war ended before he was deployed. When World War II ended, he began working as an auto body repairman in Ft. Worth. In 1949, he and Dwight Hill formed Cherry-Hill Automotive Service, a successful full-service auto repair business that they operated until 1980 when it was sold. After selling the business, he and Hazel moved to Woodway, Texas, to be near their only child and their grandchildren. Leonard served many years as chair of the Board of Deacons of North Ft. Worth Baptist Church, where he also taught Sunday School. He was an expert woodworker and furniture maker. He made many pieces of furniture for his home and for his son’s home and office. Leonard enjoyed golfing, and in later years, helping his son at a ranch near Valley Mills, Texas. Leonard was preceded in death by his parents and his four siblings, Eva Ruth Eason of Texas City, Olive Elizabeth Coppedge of Cuero, Carl Jackson Cherry of Sugarland, and Chester Lee Cherry of Muldoon. Leonard survived Hazel by approximately ten hours and is survived by his only child, David Earl Cherry and wife, Katherine Ann Yarbrough Cherry, of Woodway; two grandchildren, Lisa Michelle Cherry Pittard and husband, Kirk Louis Pittard, of Grapevine and Craig David Cherry of Woodway; and by four great-grandchildren, Wyatt Louis Pittard and Chloe Katherine Pittard of Grapevine and MacKenzie Elizabeth Cherry and Camille Lauren Cherry of Woodway. The family wishes to thank caregivers Stephanie Cole, Doris Barkley, Kimbra Talley and the staff at Visiting Angels for the care provided to Hazel and Leonard. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to the Cherry-Yarbrough Scholarship Fund at Baylor University’s Truett Seminary, 1100 South 3rd St., Waco TX 76706, or to a charity of one’s choice. The family invites you to leave a message or memory on our “Tribute Wall” at www.WHBfamily.com.