LeRoy S Pendleton

LeRoy S. Pendleton

Born February 16, 1920 in Petaluma, California, LeRoy Pendleton passed away on May 13, 2014. He was the youngest of five children born to Charles A. Pendleton and Catherine H. Pendleton. LeRoy's parents, his loving wife Joyce, a brother, and three sisters preceded him in death. He is survived by sister-in-law Patricia Smith of Great Britain, a granddaughter, several nieces in the Santa Rosa, California area, and many dear friends.

LeRoy attended Petaluma schools until 1937. He started work as a ship fitter at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in July of 1940. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in April of 1944 and served for four years. He attended electronics and radar school during his enlistment and was released from active duty in April 1948, but was recalled to active duty from September 1950 to September 1951. LeRoy taught electronics and radar at Mare Island until 1956. He married Margaret Jeffries in February 1947 and was widowed in May of 1955. He married Joyce B. Hill on July 14, 1956 and moved to Reno, Nevada in November 1956. He worked for four years for Nevada Air Products as a project engineer, building radio transmitters for the Navy. He also worked for DRI and UNR on the start of their cloud seeding project. He started his own business, Talent Inc., in 1964 to make special effects projectors for planetariums and to service and sell medical electronic equipment. He sold the business and retired in 1984.

In 1988, at the urging of his wife Joyce, they purchased 11.66 acres of canyon across the street from their home and dubbed it "Red Tail Acres." After Joyce's death in 2005, LeRoy donated the land to Nevada Land Trust (NLT) for permanent protection in her memory. NLTworked with City of Reno in 2007 to create the first public acquisition under Reno's new Open Space and Greenways Plan. LeRoy was very happy that the land that Joyce loved would remain open and accessible to the public in perpetuity. LeRoy was a life member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Sons of the Golden West, and was proud of his membership with Nevada Land Trust and Scenic Nevada.

LeRoy's life and generosity will be celebrated at a future date. Gifts in memory of LeRoy Pendleton may be made to Nevada Land Trust, P.O. Box 20288, Reno, NV 89515, or to Scenic Nevada, 150 Ridge Street. Reno, NV 89501.