Leon L. Lippert, 93, died Nov. 20, 2001 at the Laurels of Sandy Creek Nursing Home, Wayland, MI. Mr. Lippert was born on Dec. 30, 1907 in Wilson, KS, the tenth in a family of 11 children. His parents, Mary and Joseph emigrated from Bohemia and arrived in Kansas as children in covered wagons and settled near Wilson. He married Sylvia Warta in 1933 and she preceded him in death in 1975; as did son Richard in 1968. He is survived by son Robert Leon (Janice), Wayland, MI; and grandsons C. Byron and Richard Eric (Lisa) Clemmons, NC; and great-grandson, Eric Charles; granddaughter Elizabeth (Scott Wheaton), Burlington, WI. Mr. Lippert led a quiet life but touched and enriched many in his time. During World War II he helped organize and manage Victory gardens in Chicago while employed as an inspector in a weapons plant. He later became employed in The Institutional Food Industry and was acknowledged by Mayor Richard J. Daley for his then groundbreaking inner-city youth training program in 1966. His professional culinary background and horticultural avocation led to his involvement in numerous community activities, including the founding of Community Gardens in Salina, KS where he retired. This was patterned after the highly successful WWII Victory gardens. Mr. Lippert moved to Wayland in 1996 to join his family, befriending and influencing many in his brief residency. A memorial service will be held at Archer, Hampel & Kubiak chapel at 11 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 26, 2001. Mr. Lippert will be cremated and he will be interred in the family plot at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside, IL, 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2001. In lieu of flowers contributions to the Alzheimer’s Foundation will be appreciated. Arrangements by Archer, Hampel & Kubiak, 312 N. Main, Wayland, MI 49348. 616-792-2237 .
