Leonard John Biallas

Leonard John Biallas, 82, of 5320 Oak Hill Drive, Quincy, Illinois, passed away at 9:20 am Sunday, March 20, 2022 at Blessing Hospital in Quincy.

Len was born May 3, 1939 in Pontiac, Michigan, the son of Leonard Biallas, Sr. and Elizabeth (Mansfield) Biallas.

He married Martha Weedman on June 15, 1974 at Quincy University in Quincy, Illinois. She survives.

Len received a Bachelor's degree from the University of Notre Dame, Master's degree from Holy Cross College in Washington, DC, and Doctorate degree from the Catholic Institute in Paris, France.

He was a member of Quincy University's Division of Theology and Religious Studies from 1973 until his retirement in June 2004, serving as chairman of the division for 12 years (1979-1991). He continued to teach part-time every year after his retirement until 2019. From 2004-2008, he was a Road Scholar for the Illinois Humanities Council, lecturing on "Beyond the DaVinci Code: The Holy Grail" in 31 different cities in Illinois.

Len had three books published: Pilgrim: A Spirituality of Travel; Myths: Gods, Heroes, and Saviors; and World Religions: A Story Approach. He also published 18 articles and 120 book reviews in several scholarly journals and encyclopedias. For nine years (1977-1985), he was editor of The Bulletin of the Council on the Study of Religion.

He is the only person on the Quincy University faculty to have received all three of the University's Faculty Awards: Excellence in Teaching Award, Trustees' Award for Scholarly Achievement, and Distinguished Professor Award. He won fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities at Yale University and also at the University of California at Santa Barbara.

In addition to his teaching at Quincy University, Len taught at the University of Notre Dame for three years; four years at the American University in Paris, France; one year each at Loyola University's Rome Center in Italy and at St. Norbert College in Green Bay, Wisconsin; and during the 1999-2000 academic year, he held the chair as "Goodwin-Philpott Eminent Scholar in Religion" at Auburn University in Alabama, where he received the Auburn University Panhellic Council Award as Outstanding Professor.

Len taught graduate courses for 12 summers over a 30-year period at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California, and four summers at LaSalle University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He also taught graduate courses at the University of Portland, Oregon; Colgate Divinity School in Rochester, New York; and Gujarat University in Ahmedabad, India. He taught additional summers at the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, Minnesota and the UIniversity of Great Falls, Montana. During his 53 years as a university professor, he lectured in eight different countries.

He also taught English as a second language for two months each in Masaka, Uganda; Kaunas, Lithuania; and Thanh Hoa, Vietnam.

Len was a member of the American Academy of Religion, the Catholic Theological Society of America, and the College Theology Society for over 30 years. He was vice president of the College Theology Society from 1980-1982.

He expressed a world view and a faith commitment consistent with the Catholic heritage and the Franciscan tradition. He always encouraged his students to realize that religion plays a necessary and illuminating role in achieving authentic human existence.

Teaching was always more than providing objective facts and career skills. It was caring for them as whole persons -- learning their family histories, discovering their strengths and limitations, and understanding their struggles and hopes.

Len always tried to create a trusting atmosphere where students felt free to be themselves, while growing into the persons that God called them to be. He assigned work that elicited a sense of enthusiasm and a feeling of delight for knowledge and wisdom. He invited his students to dance to life's rhythms, and to express a sense of awe before the mystery of life.

He was convinced that students learned to encounter grace when they stretched their minds to realize their God-given potential, when they marveled at the intricate beauty of the world, when they strived passionately for a world of social justice, and when they saw each other as signs pointing to the divine.

Len and Martha were avid travelers, visiting more than 85 countries, all 50 United States, and all Canadian provinces. He was a longtime member of Spring Lake Country Club, Quincy Exchange Club, American Contract Bridge League, Quincy Friends of the Library, and Knights of Columbus, as well as a volunteer at the Salvation Army and for RSVP. He served on Quincy's original Enterprise Zone Committee.

Survivors include his wife, Martha; his sister, Marilyn Hollis (Lyn) of Loudon, Tennessee; his sisters-in-law, Ann Murchison (Brian) of Lexington, Virginia and Cami Biallas of Portland, Oregon; and numerous nephews and nieces.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Michael Biallas.

A funeral service will be at 3:00 pm Friday, March 25, 2022 at the O'Donnell-Cookson Life Celebration Home in Quincy, IL. Mr. Tim O'Connor will officiate.

Friends and Family are invited to Len's Life Celebration at a visitation that will be Friday, March 25, 2022 from 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm at the O'Donnell-Cookson Life Celebration Home in Quincy

Memorial contributions may be made to Quincy University's Brenner Library.

Online condolences may be shared and a video tribute may be viewed at www.ODonnellCookson.com.