Leon Wilding, 63, of O'Fallon, Missouri passed away on May 6th in St. Louis. Leon was the beloved son of Francis and Lovenia (Grotewiel) Wilding. he was the devoted husband of Virginia (Lutz) for 40 years, loving father of Angela (Dan) Gartner of Sedalia and Jessica Wilding (Fred) of Kansas City, adopted father of Dana Morton, and beloved grandfather to MacAllister, Callahan, Vespyr and Aldridge Gartner, adopted grandfather to Alexzia Morton, Kyle and Kaine Nunn and beloved son-in-law of Pearl Lutz. Leon was anxiously awaiting the birth of his first great-grandchild, Remi.
Leon was surrounded by the love of his siblings: Steve Wilding of Troy, Margie (Rodney) Martin of Wright City, Tim (Anne) Wilding of Webster Groves, Ginny (Charlie) Hakenwerth of Dardenne Prairie, Joan (Jim) Schmittel of Warrenton, Kevin (Anita) of Winfield, Debbie (Darrell) Pryor of St. Paul, Sandy (Tim) Bethel of Montgomery City, Mark Wilding (Jane) of St. Charles, Danny (Rhonda) Wilding of St. Peters and Edgar (Nancy) Wilding of St. Peters. Brother-in-law to Dorothy (Tim) Wolk of St. Genevieve, Margie (Gary) Koller of Weingarten, John (Cathy) Lutz of Weingarten, Delores (Wade) Schwent of Weingarten, Della (Toby) Kemper of Bloomsdale. Leon was the loving uncle of numerous nieces and nephews and great uncle to even more.
Leon was a soft-spoken gentleman, who spent his life living by the rules set by God for this earth. He was a loving, caring, generous leader of our family, and he taught these attributes to his daughters through living by the Christian morals in which he believed in so strongly. He cherished his family, his 40+ years with numerous co-workers and his friends. He will be missed by his siblngs, especially during his beloved fishing expeditions with his brothers and father.
Leon began his law enforcement career as a police officer and advanced into the private security field as the security supervisor at MEMC, and remained with the future companies that purchased the O'Fallon site.
Leon shared his life with his community through his service on The Fort Zumwalt Board of Education, of which he was elected by the public to serve two terms. Leon was also appointed to the St. Charles County Road Board and served for 3 years in that capacity. He also served on the Transportation Committee for Assumption Parish and also the coordinator and coach of the Assumption Church Basketball Program for many years. While on the Board of Education, Leon strove for excellence after completing the Missouri School Board Association Board of Education Certification Program. He served on numerous educational committees on the local and state level. He always focused on honesty, integrity and the best interests of young people in our community. Where there was a 'need', Leon was the first to offer a hand.
Memorial contributions may be offered in Leon's honor to his family, to assist with funeral expenses. Contributions may be made in care of his wife, Virginia Wilding.