Leo Mendoza

Leo Mendoza was born on November 2, 1956, in Manila, Philippines. He passed away peacefully at the age of 68 due to complications with esophageal cancer. His loving wife and daughter, Cristy and Leah Kaye, were by his side during his passing on the morning of January 22, 2025.

 Leo grew up in Santa Fe, Romblon, Philippines. After finishing high school, he worked as a boat crew member from 1975 to 1985, where he visited many areas of the Philippines, including Leyte and Boracay, and Hong Kong as well. He cherishes and loves sharing this experience, and he is always reminiscing about his time on the sea.

In 1985, Leo migrated to Utah along with 5 of his 7 siblings, Felix, Rose, Connie, Cris, and Cecilia. They follow their parents, Regalado and Apolonia, who migrated to Utah in 1980, and Leo’s eldest sister, Lucy, who migrated to Utah in 1972.

Leo loyally worked for Lifetime Products since 1986, where he worked as a welder and eventually as a prototype technician in recent years. Leo has made many valuable connections with fellow Lifetime coworkers over his nearly 40 years with the company.

In 1999, Leo met the love of his life, Cristy, through his cousin, Imelda, who worked with Cristy in Manila, Philippines at the time. For over a year, Leo and Cristy communicated through emails, letters, and phone calls, where they fell in love with each other. Cristy particularly fell in love with Leo’s sweet charisma, handsome voice, and how Leo would play the same song in the background of every beginning of their phone calls— the song, “Kumusta Ka?” by Freddie Aguilar, in which the opening line is, “Kumusta ka, aking mahal?” — “How are you, my love?”

Leo traveled to Lingayen, Philippines, where he married Cristy on April 21, 2001.

Leo and Cristy were reunited again once Cristy migrated to Utah in 2003. In 2006, Leo and Cristy welcomed their one and only daughter, Leah Kaye, to the world.

Leo values spending time with his family, whether it be relaxing at home, going out, or traveling. Leo loves visiting new places and always had plans to see more of the world. Since he’s lived in Utah, he’s enjoyed many road trips— some his favorite is to San Francisco, Oregon, and Colorado. Leo loves to collect souvenirs, especially hats, hoodies, and car stickers, that show his pride in visiting such beautiful places that he can tell lots of stories of. Leo enjoys getting to know friends and family and getting to know their background. He is very friendly and warm to anyone he meets.

Leo is a devout member of the Roman Catholic faith as he enjoys coming to Saint Mary’s Catholic Church with his wife and daughter every week. Leo spent a lot of time supporting Leah’s extracurriculars by coming to every single one of her lacrosse games and orchestra concerts for many years. He always showed his pride and loving support.

Leo is survived by his wife, Cristy Reyes Mendoza, and his only daughter, Leah Kaye Mendoza.

He is survived by his siblings: Rose Deleon, Connie (Victor) Arceo, Cris (Barbara) Mendoza, Cecilia Brackens.

He is survived by his nephews and nieces: RJ, Jason, Paul, Lovelle, Reggie, Eugene, Sharon, Nelson, Elyboy, Candice, Dennis, Christy, Ryan, Christopher, Philip, and Joel. He is also survived by 25 great nephews and nieces. He is survived by his cousin, Imelda (Aaron) Cruikshank (Oregon), as well as many more relatives in the Philippines.

Leo is preceded in death by his parents, Regalado Mendoza and Apolonia Paz Mendoza, and his siblings, Lucy Newell, Felix Mendoza, and Anne Tayco.

A viewing will be held on Tuesday January 28, 2025, at Lindquist’s Syracuse Mortuary (869 S 2000 W Syracuse) from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. with a vigil held at 7:00 p.m. officiated by Fr. Max Omana. Funeral mass will be held on Wednesday January 29, 2025 at Saint Mary’s Catholic Church (4050 S 3900 W West Haven) at 11:00 a.m. Graveside services will take place at Clinton Cemetery (813 N 750 W Clinton) following mass.

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