Leonard Argotti

Leonard Argotti
10-24-1932 to 12-8-2025
Leonard was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, on October 24, 1932, to Leonard V. and Juanita Zapata Argotti. His older half-siblings were Ruben Flores and Linda Salinas. His father operated a general store where Len helped after school and on weekends. He told stories of using the deep fryer for making chicharrones and other items for his dad-and frying up all sorts of foods that he experimented with! At about 17 years of age, he was baptized, along with his father, his cousin and a friend, into the Corpus Christi Spanish Seventh-day Adventist Church by Pastor Requenez. Pastor Matar had been very busy working (literally, by sweeping the store's floor!) with Len's dad who had been agnostic.
Len went to Lincoln, Nebraska, after graduating high school in Corpus Christi, to attend Union College. There he met the love of his life, Donna Marie Carlson. Len was inducted into the U.S. Army in July of 1953. Donna and Len eloped and were married in San Antonio, Texas-their favorite city-on December 5, 1953. After they were married, he and a buddy were driven by Len's family to San Francisco for Len and the friend to sail to Korea. It was not an enjoyable cruise for Len! When he returned home, he and Donna made their home in Lincoln where they welcomed Juanita Jo-named for Len's mother who had recently passed away-into their hearts in 1956. In 1958, she was joined by Leonard William and in 1960, Donald Dean. In 1962, Len moved the family to Maple Plain, Minnesota. He took nursing there in Minneapolis and began his nursing career. He did private duty nursing until moving his family to Yerington, Nevada in 1968, where he worked at the local hospital for a short while before deciding to work in a larger hospital in Reno. He moved the family to Reno after the school year was over. He also found time to take the Rural Nurse Practitioner course at the University of Nevada in Reno. The family also lived in Carson City, where Len took a job as the first nurse to work at the Nevada State Prison system.
Len moved Donna and the boys-Juanita was at Union College-to Omaha, Nebraska, where he was able to pursue his dream of anesthesia, taking the nurse anesthetist course at Creighton University there. After his graduation, he moved the family to Corning, Iowa, where he worked as a nurse anesthetist at the local hospital. During their stay there, both boys graduated from Corning High School. Leonard passed away first at age 21, and later Donald passed away at age 22. Leonard made it a priority to travel with the family, spending as much time as possible with them. They traveled to Hawaii, Florida, New York, and the Southwest.
In his later years, Len did a stint as a traveling nurse, traveling to hospitals in Wisconsin, Texas, and St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands! When he retired from traveling, he worked for a time with Department of Human Services as the overseer of medical and dental care of foster children in the Arkansas area. He spent many years in Greers Ferry in the house his father had built for Len's step-mother and their adopted daughter, Irma. While they were all living in Arkansas, a brother, George Salyer from Texas, found the family! It has been a joy having another part of the family to spend time with.
The first church Len and Donna attended in Arkansas was the Clinton Seventh-day Adventist Church. However, a need was felt for another church in the Heber Springs area, so Len, along with a few other people, began a church there, first renting a Baptist church in a beautiful location just outside of town. Again, Len saw a need for reaching the Hispanic community and Len and Donna moved their membership to the Batesville church to help there. In between, he attended and helped at the Conway SDA Church as well. He eventually, in March of 2022, needed to live at the Springs of Greers Ferry where he lived until he fell asleep peacefully on December 8, 2025.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Leonard V. and Juanita Zapata Argotti; step-mother Edna Landers Argotti; half-brothers, Ruben Flores of Lincoln, NE, and George Salyer (Yolanda) of Corpus Christi, TX; half-sister, Linda Salinas of New Jersey; step-brother, Donald Landers of Lincoln, NE; step-sister, Shirley Sivell of California; sons Leonard William Argotti and Donald Dean Argotti. He is survived by his loving wife, Donna Marie Argotti; his sisters, Mabel Migura (Dave) of Del City, OK, Irma Argotti of Cleveland, TN, Laverne Landers of Batesville; daughter, Juanita Argotti Stocke (Roy) of Reno, NV; granddaughter, Heather Griffin (Jeremy); great-granddaughter, Emily Rodriguez; and numerous nieces and nephews, cousins and a host of friends!