Leo G. Walchuk

1928 - 2021

Leo G. Walchuk

September 6, 1928 - March 14, 2021

On Sunday, March 14, 2021, our heavenly Father called his faithful son Leo G. Walchuk home and reunited him with his loving wife, Mae. The couple who had been married almost 70 years will now enjoy eternal life together.

Leo was born on September 6, 1928 in Malta, Montana where his family homesteaded. He was the second of six children growing up in rural Montana developing a tireless work ethic. Leo served in the United States Navy from 1946-1949. He was proud to have been part of the VR8 squadron as an aviation radioman and flew campaigns in the Pacific and Europe, and participated in the Berlin Airlift. He always entertained his grandchildren with stories of those years in service of his country.

In August of 1950, Leo and Mae were married in Polson and then moved to Helena so that Leo could attend Carroll College earning a BA in accounting. With a wife and three young boys, Leo moved to Colorado to complete his MBA at the University of Denver. In 1956, after receiving his degree, the family moved to Anacortes Washington where Leo went to work for Shell Oil Company.

Leo began his career at Carroll College in 1962 when hired by Archbishop Hunthausen to begin the upgrade of the Business Office operations, set up internal controls and convert all accounting, payroll and personnel records to an IBM computerized system. In 1968, Monsignor Brown appointed Leo as the Vice President of Business Affairs, a position that he held until his retirement. Much of Leo's final two years at Carroll were spent overseeing the reconstruction of the campus buildings and grounds after the Montana Rail Link explosion in 1989. Long after his retirement you could find him cheering on the Saints at a football or basketball game.

After his retirement, Leo turned to a new passion, race horses. It started simply when he had an opportunity to purchase a colt from Secretariat and blossomed to its heyday when at one time he had as many as seventeen horses which he was training. He raced horses throughout the Pacific Northwest and reveled in the new experiences and lifelong friendships he made along the way.

Leo was a man of deep faith. He always turned to prayer in times of joy and heartache. In these final weeks of life, he was at peace knowing he would soon be joining the love of his life and in the arms of our Lord.

Leo is proceeded in death by his parents, four brothers, his sister and his wife. He is survived by his younger brother Joe (Susan) and his five children; Don (Molly), Eddy, Mike (Terri), Pat and Renee' (Barry); 16 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren.

Visitation will take place on Thursday, March 18, 2021 from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Anderson Stevenson Wilke Funeral Home, 3750 N. Montana Ave. The Funeral Mass will be held on Friday, March 19, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. in All Saints Chapel, Carroll College. Burial with Military Honors will be held at the Ronan Cemetery on Friday at 3:00 p.m. The family has requested that remembrances be made in the form of contributions to the Peter and Pearl Walchuk scholarship fund at Carroll College. Please visit www.aswfuneralhome.com to offer a condolence to the family or to share a memory of Leo.