Leo John Lenze, of Titusville, Florida and formerly of Saint Marys, Pennsylvania, passed on Easter Morning (April 9, 2023). The son of Leo Andrew Lenze and Beulah Evelyn Lenze, Leo was born on October 19, 1936; he was 86.

He is survived by his wife of 63 years, M. Ellen Lenze; their six married children Andrew & Sharon Lenze, Elizabeth & Edwin Seiler, David & Lisa Lenze, James & Sylvia Lenze, Donald & Janet Lenze, and Leo & Leann Lenze; 23 grandchildren, and 5 great grandchildren.

Leo graduated from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) and earned a graduate degree from the Pennsylvania State University. After graduating from IUP, he taught school for two years in Ulysses, Pennsylvania before returning to Saint Marys to teach in the public high school for the remainder of his teaching career. At various times during his 36 years of teaching, he also taught night classes at the DuBois Business College, tutored children unable to attend school in residence, coached basketball, taught swimming, and co-managed the Memorial (Community) Pool. Leo and Ellen also owned and operated Johnson’s Grocery Store for many years until they sold it in 1989. Upon Leo’s retirement from Saint Marys Area High School in 1993, he served two terms as Elk County Auditor and spent time exploring the country with Ellen in their RV.

In his later years, Leo and Ellen sold their RV and purchased a modest retirement home in the Willow Lakes Resort outside of Titusville, Florida. They followed the seasons moving back and forth between Florida and Pennsylvania until 2020, when they sold their home in Saint Marys and became full-time Florida residents.

Leo will be laid to rest in the Saint Mary’s Catholic Cemetery. A viewing will be held on Friday,

April 14, 2023 from 5:00 to 7:00 pm at the Lynch-Radkowski Funeral Home, and a Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, April 15, 2023 at 10:00 am at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, with the Rev. Thomas Curry, OSB, Pastor, celebrating.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be added to a Penn State Scholarship fund that was created in honor of Leo and Ellen’s commitment to education at: raise.psu.edu/FREEDOMscholarship. Alternatively, checks payable to “Penn State” with “SXQFY-Lenze FREEDOM scholarship” on the memo line may be mailed to: Attn: DONOR AND MEMBER SERVICES, Penn State University, 2583 Gateway Drive, Bristol Place One, Suite 130, State College, PA 16801.

Online condolences may be offered at www.lynch-radkowski.com