Leonard Ilkenhans

Leonard Ilkenhans, beloved father, husband, brother and grandfather, passed away peacefully at his home in Española, New Mexico, on July 15, 2024, at the age of 75. Born on August 10, 1948, in Gainesville, Texas, Leonard (Leo) was one of 11children in the Ilkenhans family. He attended the Pasadena High School in Texas and directly enlisted into the United States Marine Corps upon graduation. From June 1967 to August 1970, he served in the Vietnam War, which had a profound impact on the rest of his life.

After leaving the military in 1970, Leonard worked for several chemical companies in the Houston area. His work often taking him to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, where he gained valuable experiences and skills and probably a fair amount of fun. After that experience he worked at Advanced Micro Devices, a semiconductor company for a long period of time and then eventually moved into Federal Government Facilities Management for Wilson 5 in Austin, Texas where he oversaw maintenance operations in the Courthouse and the offices of the former President Lyndon B Johnson. He worked (& played) here until his retirement.

Leonard's personal life was filled with wild moments of motorcycle fire jumping stunts, country western dancing and tinkering with electronics. He was generous and giving and would help anyone in need and had a tireless curiosity of humanity. Widowed in 1986 when his first love Elda Rodriguez died of an illness, he was left a single father to their son, Trent. He later married Ana Ortega, with whom he had two daughters, Jennie and Vivian, and in 2015, Leonard married Jane Gramzinski, and they spent his later years together, first in Austin, then traveling the Southwest in an Airstream, then settling down in Espanola New Mexico. Leonard quickly made friends of the locals and explored every dirt road in the region, exploring on his ATV, visiting veteran memorials sites and dropping in on various local spiritual centers in his never ending quest for the universal answers. Aside from his ceaseless quest to see and do, Leonard was also a painter, an avid reader, and a lover of old-school country music and Sadguru, sometimes at the same time.

Leonard is survived by his children: Trent Ilkenhans, Jennie Evans, and Vivian Owen, along with eight grandchildren. He also leaves behind his siblings: sisters Mavis, Shirley, and Jan, and brother Robert.

Rest in Peace sweet Leo.

A Celebration of Life will be held

September 14th at 10:00am at Pace Bend Park. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation by sponsoring a remembrance wreath for our veterans with the unique link https://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/pages/181012/Overview/?relatedId=167135