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Boyertown Senior High School

FUNERAL HOME

Linwood W. Ott Funeral Home, Inc.

111 North Reading Ave

Boyertown, Pennsylvania

Leslie Updegrove Obituary

Name: Mass of Christian Burial for Leslie Updegrove
Start: 2020-09-03T14:00:00.000Z
Location: Most Blessed Sacrament Church

Leslie “Les” Updegrove of Wernersville passed away on Friday, Aug. 21st at Reading Hospital after battling leukemia for three months. He was the son of LeRoy and Regina Updegrove of Gilbertsville, PA. He had one sibling, Cherie, who predeceased him in March of 2000. Les was a graduate of Boyertown High School. He went on to graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Tristate College (Trine University) of Illinois. For the next 41 years he dedicated his life to working at Motorola. He traveled extensively in Asia and Australia in support of radio and cell phone manufacturing. Once Les retired, he enjoyed traveling to and hiking in many of the National Parks, especially the Grand Canyon. He was also constantly researching his extensive family tree and enjoyed meeting long lost cousins! When he wasn’t traveling or doing genealogical research, Les loved tinkering with and rebuilding antique radios. Les spent the majority of his adult life living in Schaumburg, IL, finally coming back East to his roots to spend the last months of his life close to his loving family. He is survived by his brother in law Charles R Schwenk husband of Barbara, 2 nephews: C. Michael Schwenk husband of Abby, Larry R Schwenk husband of Sarah and 1 niece: Stacey (Schwenk) Walmsley wife of Christopher. He is also survived by 6 great nephews and 3 great-great nephews. Les will be missed terribly not only by his family but also by all his long-time retired friends from Motorola with whom he enjoyed a weekly beer until he moved back to Pennsylvania. Linwood W. Ott Funeral Home of Boyertown, PA is in charge of funeral arrangements. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated by Fr R. James on Thurs, Sept. 3rd at 10am at Most Blessed Sacrament Church, Bally, PA. (Please use side entrance.) Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the family requests that guests please follow current social distancing rules and wear masks. Burial at Limerick Gardens will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Leukemia And Lymphoma Society; Donor Services; PO Box 98018; Washington DC 20090-8018.

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Published by The Mercury from Aug. 29 to Sep. 10, 2020.

Memories and Condolences
for Leslie Updegrove

Sponsored by Pottsmerc.com.

14 Entries

Linda Schrader

August 23, 2023

My cousin Les and I not only shared High School graduation but shared an interest in antiques. When Les would come back to PA we would meet and go antique 'shopping'. He of course had his intense interest in radios , mine was varied . But we would alsways have a day of fun no matter where we went. Miiss my phone calls with you Les and I miss my antique partner.

Arbela Takhsh

December 30, 2020

The following are some of the comments and sentiments shared by Les’s friends and colleagues at Motorola on the sad news of his passing. Our collective condolences to Les’s family. May he Rest In Peace.

So Sorry to hear of Les’s passing. Les was one of my managers at Motorola and he was a great boss and coach. We kept in touch for a while after he retired from Motorola. He will be missed.

Les was probably my biggest influence in quality. More importantly he was a dear friend. We got together after he retired a few times a year and we had some shop talk but it always diverged in odd directions. He will be greatly missed.

Very sorry to hear about Les’s passing. He taught many of us along the way. Memories of his commitment and passion are a blessing...

Very Sad to hear of Les’s passing. After Les retired my wife and I would meet him for lunch in Pennsylvania. The lunch would last 3 hours sharing stories our time in Taiwan. Unfortunately, after his bike accident we spoke over the phone a few times. He was a great man and even better person. He will be missed!

Les was one of the good ones in Motorola. Sad to hear of his passing.

So sorry to hear of Les’s passing. He was a consummate professional and always there to help. May he rest in peace.

Very sorry to hear, he was a great individual and teacher. So many memories of going to his office to discuss product quality.

I am so sad to hear of Les’s passing. Many memories sitting in his office solving problems...

I am fortunate to have known and worked with Les and he will truly be missed!

So proud of being part of Motorola quality team. Les will be missed.

Very sorry to hear of Les’s passing.

So sorry to hear of Les’s passing.

Les’s passing is a sad loss indeed.

Sorry to hear that Les left us so soon.

Very sad to learn of Les’s passing ..

I'm sad and sorry to hear about Les’s passing.

Our prayers to Les's family.

Zafarul Azam

December 1, 2020

It was a pleasure working with Les surging our common time at Motorola. He was a gentleman of the highest order and a consummate professional who could be relied upon for up to date information at work and hitting his goals one after the other. May he rest in peace.

Arbela Takhsh

November 29, 2020

I am so very saddened to learn of Les’s passing. Les and I worked at Motorola together and following his retirement in 2010, we remained in contact through occasional emails, phone calls, and a few lunch outings. Les had taken on a very active retirement as he shared his adventures hiking the Grand Canyons, biking thousands of miles every year, and taking on various new hobbies. But what I remember the most from Les is his deep commitment to give his best to his teams and coworkers. Les was a brilliant engineer, a master of manufacturing production, and a relentless champion of customer quality. One of his many achievements was the amazing team that he built in Taiwan, and the time and care that he took in helping to grow every team member. You were a positive influence in many lives and careers, Les. You will be missed, my friend. Rest in Peace.

Molly Lorenz

October 1, 2020

My deepest sympathy to his family...Les visited with my mother and sister on several occasions, and I finally met him in person when he moved to Pennsylvania. He talked extensively of the family history and his research in that regard. He also shared about his interest in radio. He will be missed.

Carl H. BLoss

September 2, 2020

Sorry for your loss. As Les would do his extremely precise daily walks - He often would stop and gab - mostly about family and genealogy. Will miss his smile and friendliness. Carl and Norma Bloss

Betty Updegrove Miller

September 1, 2020

Les was my cousin although I didn’t know him as well as my sister, Linda. We reconnect before he retired. He always spoke of Motorola as home, family with love in his words. He will be missed by many, many people from all over the world. May his earthly family find comfort that his family in Heaven has welcomed him home and hold him in their loving embrace. Rest In Peace, Les.

Linda Updegrove Schrader

September 1, 2020

Les and I were close not because we were cousins but out fathers although brothers were good friends too. Les and I were in the same class in high school which meant with the same last name and a first name that began with an “L” we were stuck with each other from 7th to 12th grade. That meant homeroom and several other classes! After High School the years passed but we reconnected after retirement.
Les would travel East to visit his family and we would meet to do antiquing: Renninger’s or assorted other antique sites. Les would always promise for each old radio he would buy he would sell one from his collection!
Les became the family historian He did a fabulous job of rounding up information for our “tree” reaching out all over the country Les I shared photos from our own family photo albums ... he didn’t want to miss anything Les was stalwart in his commitment to the Updegrove
family history. Thank Les for putting so many puzzle pieces together!
Cousin Les you are in a better place. I miss you ... but we will meet again.

Kathy Downie

September 1, 2020

Although we were both engineers at Motorola, we didn't work directly together but met being team mates in the softball league. He was a great guy and since we knew the same people we shared Motorola stories long after we both left Motorola. He was a very fun loving, caring friend.

Linda Updegrove Schrader

September 1, 2020

My cousin Les sat next to me from 6th grade till we graduated from Boyertown HS. not only in homeroom but many classes. We got used to it. It was after we retired that we hooked up again and did the antiquing thing. Les would come East to visit his family and we would go antiquing....always promising that he would sell one radio if he bought one! Les was the family historian. He so much work locating Updegrove's all over the country. Praises to him for all his research! I will miss you cousin Les. You are in a better place! God Bless.
Linda Updegrove Schrader

Linda Schrader

Planted Trees

Nancy (Updegrove) Krenzel

August 31, 2020

Les was always interested in our family history and was determined to find out everything he possibly could about the Updegroves. He was always anxious to share the information he discovered. I traveled with him several times to visit many cousins that we had not seen for years. He loved to scan old family photos to show other members of the "cousins club". I will miss him immensely and so proud to have the recorded history of our family. Les's dad was my father's youngest brother. I am Les's first cousin.

Scott Howard

August 31, 2020

Les was my first and favorite boss at Motorola in Schaumburg. My favorite memory is a project (outside of work) that we worked together on for several months. My uncle in L.A. contracted ALS, and eventually could only use but one finger to communicate with his remote family. No voice or other significant sound/motion was possible. Les helped me to develop and build a "one button typewriter" with a scanning display of keyboard letters and words. This was a God-send for my uncle! Les was a great boss, a fun friend, and a very generous person.

Ronda Allen

August 30, 2020

My condolences to the entire family. Les was an amazing man. He taught me so much while we worked together at Motorola. Les knew everything about Motorola. You can tell he dedicated his life to Motorola. No one ever thought he was going to retire. Thank you for your mentor ship, Les. May he rest in pease. God bless Les and his family.

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