LeRoy William Seifert Jr., 81, of Leavenworth, passed away to his heavenly reward Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022, at the University of Kansas Hospital after a fall and subsequent illness. He was born Sept. 28, 1941, to LeRoy Seifert and Marguerite (Hanley) Seifert in Leavenworth.
He married Patricia West in 1962. After their divorce, LeRoy married Mary Loar in 1969 and showed devotion to her during her long battle with Parkinson’s disease until her death in 2020.
LeRoy grew up on the family farm in rural Leavenworth County and was a graduate of Jarbalo High School. He served in the U.S. Army, primarily in Germany, and retired from Hallmark Cards, where he worked as a maintenance worker, factory machine builder and warehouse machine operator. LeRoy also operated several side businesses for which he was well known in Leavenworth and throughout the Kansas City area. He operated Seifert Farm Supply in the 1970s and ‘80s, which allowed him to stay close to his preferred profession of farming. He then launched Lawn Care Unlimited in the late 1980s and became known for planting new landscapes and mowing more than 60 acres of grass throughout the area each week.
His final business venture was LeRoy’s Sports Fields, which included regular work manicuring the playing surface at Arrowhead Stadium, surface-leveling assistance when fences were relocated at Kauffman Stadium, and full construction of fields for numerous small colleges, high schools and municipalities across Kansas and Missouri.
People who knew LeRoy were reminded often of his loyalty to John Deere tractors, his love for farming, his time serving as an assistant coach in the early days of the Leavenworth High School baseball program and the meticulous way he obeyed his doctor’s directions following a kidney transplant in 2008. LeRoy often told stories reflecting his pride in his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his stepmother, Grace Seifert; his wife; and his brother, Glen Seifert.
LeRoy is survived by three daughters, Cary (Jay) Skaggs and Wendy Seifert both of Leavenworth and Susan (David) Rollins of Richland, Wash.; two sons, LeRoy W. Seifert III of Rotonda West, Fla., and Todd (Amy) Seifert of Lawrence, Kan.; nine grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022, at the R.L. Leintz Funeral Home. A graveside service will begin at 10 a.m. Friday, at Mt. Muncie Cemetery. A graveside service will begin at 10 a.m. Friday, at Mount Muncie Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be given in LeRoy’s name to the Transplant Institute at Research Medical Center in Kansas City.