Henry Leroy, Jr.

Henry Lewis LeRoy, Jr., age 82, of Independence, Kansas passed away on Wednesday, July 21st with his family by his side.

Jr. (as his friends liked to call him) was born on August 8, 1938, in Pittsburg, Kansas. He lived in Pittsburg, KS for several years and then moved to Independence, KS. He attended Independence High School graduating in 1956 & Independence Community Junior College graduating in 1959.

On August 23, 1959, he married Marsha Gale Burton at the Bolton Friends Church in Bolton, Kansas. They celebrated 61 years of marriage in 2020. To this marriage, they were blessed with three daughters, Melody, Jody & Dede.

The couple made their first home in Manhattan, KS where Jr. attended Kansas State University, majoring in Mechanical Engineering.

Jr. decided to leave K-State (after the birth of his first daughter) and return to Independence, KS where he joined his dad, Henry Lewis LeRoy, Sr. in owning & operating LeRoy' s Motor Supply for over 30 years.  He also owned & operated The Radiator King repair center for several years.

Jr.'s lifelong love of anything involving auto repair and mechanics related to cars drove his passion for operating both businesses for the majority of his career. After selling and retiring from the businesses, Jr. worked for the Montgomery County Public Works Department and had several fun post-retirement jobs including transporting children for KAW Valley Center for the foster care system & was a sales representative for Sun Electric selling engine analyzers.

Jr. attended the Methodist Church in both Pittsburg & Independence, KS and was later baptized by Jim Blocher in Independence, KS.

Jr’s hobbies and interests included tinkering with anything mechanical, anything auto related &building anything mechanical. He loved camping & assisting as a 4-H leader with fundraising projects, educational tours, and helping build 4-H booths. He loved bowling & square dancing with the Independence Promenade Club. He had a lifelong love of fireworks & running fireworks stands with both his family and his 4-H family which will continue for many generations. He loved making family home videos & was always the person behind the camera or the video camera taking pictures.

He had a very large fountain pen & pencil collection & always loved to watch TV (as long as he was in control of the remote).

He loved to travel with automotive conventions & family vacation trips to Texas, California, Jamaica, Branson & the overall favorite family vacation trip to Hawaii for Jr. & Marsha's 50th wedding anniversary.

Jr. was a wonderful friend, husband, brother, dad, grandpa, great-grandpa, cousin, etc....He made you smile & laugh & was very onery.  He loved to laugh and always enjoyed life.

Surviving to honor his memory are his three daughters - - Jody LeRoy of Manhattan, Ks, DeDe Metcalf and husband Keith, and Melody Moore and husband Mike of Independence, KS; grandchildren, Ashley Muller and husband Joe of Coffeyville, KS, Shane Moore and wife Abbey of Waco, TX, Madison Findley and husband George of Valley Center, KS, Collin Wood of Manhattan, KS, Mason and Jared Metcalf of Independence, KS; great grandchildren, Gatlan, Treager, and Preslyn Muller and baby due in Jan. 2022, Bennett Moore, Camdyn and Rowyn Findley; sister, Helen Belk and husband Bill; multiple nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Jr. was preceded in death by his parents, Henry & Rita LeRoy, mother & father-in-law, Ivan & Cleo Burton and grandsons - -Andrew Keith Metcalf & Jacob Michael Moore. His wife, Marsha, also joined him in heaven on July 29, 2021.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, August 21st at 10:00 a.m. at the Webb & Roderick Funeral Home in Independence, KS. Pastor Randy Beeman will officiate. Burial will follow in Mount Hope Cemetery in Independence, KS.

Visitation will be held from 6:00-8:00 p.m. on Friday, August 20th at the Webb & Roderick Funeral Home in Independence, KS with the family present to greet friends.

The family suggests memorial contributions to the Montgomery County 4-H Youth organization.

To leave a message for the family online, visit www.webbrodrickchapel.com