Mass of Christian Burial for Leo Edward Gunther, 80, of Hettinger, ND will be Friday, January 19, 2007 at 10:30 a.m. at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Hettinger. Fr. Chad Gion will officiate. Military Honors will be afforded by the Johnson-Melary American Legion Post #115. Burial will follow at the Sacred Heart Cemetery in Scranton, ND. Visitations will be from 1:00 to 7:00 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 15, at the Evanson Jensen Funeral Home in Hettinger and one hour prior to the service at the church on Friday morning. A Rosary/Wake service will be Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m. at the Evanson Jensen Funeral Home in Hettinger.

LEO EDWARD GUNTHER was born in Reeder, ND on April 15, 1926 to Carl and Helen (Maychrzak) Gunther. He grew up on a farm south of Gascoyne, ND. His family moved to Mobridge, SD in 1941 so that his father could work with the railroad. Leo continued this family legacy when he began working for the Chicago-Milwaukee-St. Paul line at the age of 17 as a depot agent out of McLauglin, SD. Leo joined the US Army in July of 1944 and served over in Europe during World War II. His active service in the military ended in July of 1946 at which time he returned to work for the railroad.


On October 28, 1947, he married Bernadine Reis. They lived in McLaughlin for a short time until they settled into the depot at Gascoyne for the next 16 years. Four children were born during this time, two sons, Gary and Alan, a daughter, Peggy and an infant son, who died at birth.


In February of 1964, Leo was transferred to the depot in Hettinger, ND, where he remained until shortly before suffering a stroke that left his right side paralyzed in December of 1973 at the age of 47. Through intensive rehab, lots of hard work, determination, attendance for 8 years at Adult Ed and the assistance of the teacher, Doris Johnson, Leo was able to regain his ability to walk, talk, read, write and do math. He loved to read the daily newspapers and take daily walks to maintain his strength and mobility. As he walked in the neighborhood, Leo would visit with everyone who happened to cross his path or pickup trash to keep his area neat. When he was no longer able to walk, the Veterans Administration supplied him with a motorized scooter. During nice weather, his daily ritual was to "scoot" on down the highway, over the railroad tracks and into the park near Mirror Lake to partake of his daily soda and watch the geese. In fact, many townspeople have commented that they could almost set their clock by this daily routine. Leo especially enjoyed being adventuresome and go about town, seeing the latest happenings and once again, visit one and all along the way.


Health issues made it necessary for Leo and Bernie to sell their longtime home and move into a smaller apartment. As Leo's needsfor self-care increased, he moved into the Hillcrest Care Center in April of 1996. Leo remained at the Care Center until his death on January 14, 2007. His daily trips on his scooter were the highlight of his day as his last little bit of independence before age and health issues confined him indoors completely. That bright orange vest will be greatly missed zipping around Hettinger.


On his outings to the park, Bernie would often join Leo for a soda or ice cream. On the days he was confined to the center, she would spend the afternoons in competitive games of cribbage or Phase-Ten. Card playing was Leo's favorite pastime as it provided him with many hours of enjoyment, helped maintain his mental sharpness and was a social focal point for other residents who would join he and Bernie for a game or two.


In his younger days, Leo was an avid and true outdoorsman. His favorite targets were pheasant and grouse, while the "lucky" fishing holes could be found somewhere at North Lemmon Lake, Shadehill Reservoir or the Garrison Dam. His family often enjoyed meals of wild game or fish, thanks to Leo's accurate aim or lucky strike.


Leo was an actively involved father and community leader. He was often available to help his sons with Scout activities, to take his family on vacations, or after work, teach his children how to hunt and fish. Many an evening, Leo, Bernie and their longtime friends, Ken and Gen Fisher, Wayne and Mona Johnson, Carl and Hazel Czywczynski, Kenny and LaVonne Raber, Leo and Melva Czywczynski or Benny and Laura Czywczynski enjoying a game of cards, such as whist, canasta, tripoli or rummy. Friends, family and community were very important to Leo.


In the community realm, Leo was service oriented and civic minded. Outside his regular work hours as a depot agent, Leo volunteered his time to serve on the Scranton School Board for 13 years and helped out with many activities or tasks needed in the small towns of Gascoyne and Scranton. During the Vietnam era, Leo was appointed as a Government Appeal Agent for the Selective Service Board and then later as the Advisor to the Registrant. Presidents Nixon in 1973 and Gerald Ford again in 1975, awarded Leo Certificates of Appreciation for his five years of service to the Selective Service Board.


After moving to Hettinger, Leo became extremely involved in the Veterans of Foreign Wars organization. He served as Quarter Master of Post 6300 from 1968 to 1973, was appointed as the National Aide DeCamp in 1968 and in October 1973 was appointed as the National Chief of Staff for the VFW of the United States. Had he not suffered a stroke in the prime of his life, his service to the VFW, his fellow Veterans and his country would have been the greatest achievement of his life.


Leo's death brought an end to his marriage to Bernie that was just 10 months shy of being 60 years long.

Grateful for having shared in his life are his wife, Bernie, Hettinger; son, Gary (Sally) Gunther, Colorado Springs, CO; daughter, Peggy Gunther, Hettinger; two granddaughters, Krista (Rob) Warbis, Hettinger and Jenna (Marc) Erickson, Inver Grove Heights, MN; daughter-in-law, Leah Gunther, Hettinger; three great grandchildren, Madison, Ty and Cade Warbis, Hettinger; brother Clarence (Debbie) Gunther, Aurora, CO; 23 nieces, 10 nephews and two aunts, Claudia Maychrzak and Barbara Maychrzak, both of Scranton, ND as well as several great nieces, great nephews and many cousins. Preceding Leo in death were his parents, Carl and Helen Gunther, son, Alan Gunther, an infant son and a brother, Walter Gunther.