Richard Eugene Leenderts

Richard Leenderts Service

Hills, MN 

     Richard Leenderts age 91 of Hills, MN died Monday, July 27, 2020 at the Tuff Memorial Home in Hills, MN.

     Public visitation will be Thursday, July 30^th from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM with family present at the Jurrens Funeral Home of Rock Rapids, IA.

     Funeral service will be at 10:00 a.m. Friday, July 31^st at the Jurrens Funeral Home of Rock Rapids. Private burial for family will follow the service at the Eastside Cemetery in Steen, MN. Service will be recorded and posted to a link in Richard’s obituary on our website for ninety days.

     Richard Eugene Leenderts, born on May 27, 1929 on a farm near Ellsworth, MN, was the son of Abel and Rakie (Mulder) Leenderts. He grew up near Steen, MN and attended school at #2 Lyon County District Country School.

     On January 19, 1951, he was united in marriage to Hendrene Beyenhof on her Dad’s farm in Iowa. After getting married they moved to a little house on Alvin Fink’s farm where Richard worked as a hired hand. In October of 1951, Richard enlisted in the U.S. Army where he was a member of the 3^rd Armor Division. He had his basic training in Fort Knox, Kentucky and then served in the Korean War and was honorably discharged in 1953. After his discharge the couple lived in Hills, MN and raised four children: Coni, Darrell, Arlen and Brenda.

     Richard bought his father-in-law’s milk route in 1951 and delivered milk and cream until he sold it in 1960 when he began working at the Hills elevator. He left the elevator in October of 1969 to go work for IBP in Luverne where he was employed until 1983. He then began working for the Rock County Coop delivering fuel and gas until he retired in May of 1995. After retiring Richard took a part-time position driving the preschool van for the Hills-Beaver Creek School for the next fourteen years. Richard entered the Tuff Memorial Home in Hills in June of 2020 and passed away at the age of 91 on July 27, 2020.

     Richard enjoyed driving his golf cart around Hills with his dog Jack. He always looked forward to his daily coffee routine with the guys at Orv’s station. His biggest enjoyment throughout life was taking road trips with Drene. She always said he started his morning with “where are we going today?”.

     Richard is survived by his four children: Coni (Wally) Hagedorn of Venice, FL, Darrell (Melanie) Leenderts of Harrisburg, SD, Arlen (Lois) Leenderts of Hills, MN and Brenda (Scott) Smith of Prior Lake, MN; nine grandchildren, 18 great grandchildren, sisters Reva Hoff and Henrietta Hughes, and brothers Leonard (Delores) and Harold (Torborg).

     He was preceded in death by his wife of sixty-one years, Hendrene; his parents Abel and Rakie Leenderts; and brother Jim.

     In lieu of flowers the family prefers memorials.