DR. EDWIN C. LEONARD JR.

1940 - 2020

DR. EDWIN C. LEONARD JR., 80, passed away on Monday, Dec. 7, 2020, at Lincoln shire Memory Care in Fort Wayne after a lengthy battle with a frontal - temporal dementia. "Knowing his personal relationship with Jesus, we take solace that we will be reunited with him." Born May 13, 1940, in Amherst, Ohio, he was a son of Edwin C. Leonard and Christine (Poor) Leonard. He graduated from Elyria High School in Elyria, Ohio. He earned Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral degrees from Purdue University in West Lafayette. Upon graduation from Purdue, he served his country as the company commander of Headquarters Company of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg. It was during this time that his faith in God led to a lifetime of being involved with church. Most recently, he was a member of Covenant United Methodist Church in Fort Wayne. Doc spent more than 40 years at IPFW, starting in the Purdue Extension Office then moving to the IU School of Business, where he spent the majority of his career. His primary instructional areas included organizational behavior and leadership, human resources / industrial relations, and strategic management. He held various faculty and administrative positions, including chair of the Management and Marketing Department. He received Emeritus status from Indiana University in 2004. Dr. Leonard designed and conducted workshops and seminars for thousands of supervisors, managers, and executives all over the world. For more than 30 years, he served as academic advisor and coordinator of (HWI) Do-It-Best Corporation's Management Training Course. From 1970 through 2001, he had his own full-service management consulting firm. He was an accomplished author, with his most successful being: Supervision, Concepts and Practices in Management. Its 13th edition is the most current and is still being used in college classrooms today. He has been published in a number of academic and professional journals, instructional supplement manuals, and proceedings. He spent seven years as the editor of the Business Case Journal through the Society for Case Research. His writing earned him numerous "best paper" and "distinguished case" awards. Upon his retirement from Indiana University, Dr. Leonard was instrumental in developing the Master of Science in Leadership program at Trine University. Dr. Leonard was the recipient of numerous recognitions throughout his storied academic career, including the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Purdue, being inducted into the Elyria High School Hall of Fame, the Award of Teaching Excellence from the IU School of Continuing Studies, the Faculty Service Award from the National University Continuing Education Association, and the Ordo Honorium of Kappa Delta Rho, to name a few. While Doc's impact on his students and the business world is significant, he is "the Father of (I)PFW Athletics". He was the first men's head basketball coach in Mastodon History. He was also the first men's head golf coach. He was Chairman of the Joint Athletic Committee and was instrumental in the addition of women's athletics to the program. He established the first endowed scholarship at the university for a student-athlete in the in the basketball, baseball, or volleyball programs majoring in business. He later endowed a men's volleyball scholarship and a men's golf scholarship. In 2010, he was inducted into the Mastodon Athletics Hall of Fame, and in 2014, then Governor Mike Pence awarded him the 'Sagamore of the Wabash' for his contributions to IPFW Athletics. Doc's paycheck may have come from Bloomington, but he was a Purdue Boilermaker through and through. It was at Purdue that he met the love of his life, his wife, Virginia (Ginger), who survives. They would have celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary in seven weeks. Doc was a member of the Purdue President's Council, the John Purdue Club, the Groben Society, the R.B. Stewart Society, and Kappa Delta Rho. At the West Lafayette campus, Doc and his family have established the Leonard Family Endowed Scholarships for football, for a cheerleader studying Education, and for a student in Purdue Musical Organizations who is studying Agriculture. Doc believed in investing in people. His community service includes serving 12 years on the Allen County Tax Adjustment Board; the League for the Blind; the Northeast Indiana March of Dimes; and the Board of Directors of the Public Transportation Corporation. Additional philanthropic passions were The Rescue Mission of Fort Wayne, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and Habitat for Humanity. In his spare time, Doc enjoyed supporting his children and grandchildren in their activities. He loved playing golf, playing bridge, and studying the Bible. Doc and Ginger spent their winters on Jekyll Island, Ga., where he was a member of the Rotary Club. Along with his wife, Ginger, he is survived by his two daughters, Lori of Fort Wayne and Lisa (Gary) Koss of Gahanna, Ohio; a son, Todd "Teo" (Stacie) of Apollo Beach, Fla.; beloved grandchildren, Haley Koss and Tyler Koss, both of Gahanna, Ohio; and three nieces, Christine and Hayden Neidhardt, and Cheri Hardt, all of Cleveland Ohio. Thanks to Covid restrictions, nothing is planned at this time. His family is thankful for the loving care he was provided by the staff of Lincolnshire Place and Heartland Hospice. Preferred memorials are to the Purdue Fort Wayne Professor Ed Leonard Endowed Athletic Scholarship or the Purdue University Center for Cancer Research in West Lafayette. Arrangements entrusted to D.O. McComb & Sons Funeral Homes.