Leonard Joseph Banse

Leonard Joseph Banse of Wallis passed away on October 28, 2025, at the age of 90.

He was born on January 3, 1935, in Weimar to Alois and Hedwig (Kainer) Banse.

He was raised in Weimar on a farm with his six siblings and graduated from Weimar High School in 1953. He served in the U.S. Army from 1956 to 1957 and afterwards started his working career at Western Electric in Houston.

Leonard met his wife, Cecilia Muras, at a dance, and they married on May 6, 1967. Soon after, they purchased farmland in Wallis and began work on remodeling their home, building barns, raising cattle, crops, and planting many pecan and fruit trees. They celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary in 2024.

He also worked at Bank of the Southwest, Imperial Sugar, and completed his career at Frito-Lay in Rosenberg, retiring in 1998.

Leonard was extremely devoted to his wife, Cecilia, and his immediate and extended family. He enjoyed listening to polka music and dancing with Cecilia at every opportunity. As a self-taught musician, he played many polkas, classic country and church hymns on his accordion and harmonica. He found great joy in caring for the trees on the farm and was very skilled at tree grafting. Over the years, he assisted many family members and friends with caring for their trees.

In his retirement years, he competed in county pecan shows and was meticulous in choosing his best varieties to show. These were truly his best years, working on the farm, alongside Cecilia, and spending time with family.

Leonard was very devout and conscientious in his Catholic faith, and lived his entire life with a humble spirit, a peacemaker personality, and above all, as a servant to God. He was a parishioner of Guardian Angel Catholic Church, served as an usher for decades, helped with the annual bazaar preparation and cleanup, and was a member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

Leonard was preceded in death by his parents, Alois and Hedwig Banse, his daughter, Sandra Banse Fuechec, his wife, Cecilia Muras Banse, and his siblings Leona Gomez and Wilfred Banse, and brothers-in-law Jimmie Genzer and Edwin Muras.

He is survived by his children: Michael (Patricia) Banse, Donna Parke (fiancé David Williams), Janette (Brian) Demny, Brian Banse, son-in-law Jody Fuechec, ten grandchildren and four great grandchildren. He is also survived by his brothers Norbert Banse and Melvin Banse; and his sisters Carolyn Janak and Linda Anders, along with many other family members.

A visitation will be held on Sunday, November 2, 2025 from 5:00 – 7:00 PM at Guardian Angel Catholic Church, 5614 Demel Street, Wallis, TX, with a rosary recited at 7:00 PM. A funeral Mass will be celebrated on Monday, November 3, 2025 at 11:00 AM at Guardian Angel Catholic Church.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in his honor may be made to Guardian Angel Catholic Church, PO Box 487, Wallis, TX 77485.