Dennis Ray Leichtman, 72

Dennis Ray Leichtman passed away on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, peacefully at home surrounded by the love of his family.

Dennis was born on Sept.  6, 1952, in New Hampton to Kenneth and Doris (Kolthoff) Leichtman.

He grew up farming and continued to live what he did till the very end. He attended New Hampton High School, was highly involved in FFA, and graduated with the Class of 1970.

After graduation he continued to farm creating a homestead for his family to grow from. Dennis was married to Nancy Harrington in November of 1973. They had three children — Dan, Jennifer and David — and they later divorced in 1984.

Dennis lived his life for his family and was often known as willing to give the shirt off his back for anyone that was in need. Farming was the way of life, and he did enjoy having livestock for many years.

Dennis rarely faltered to have a good joke to tell with any conversation he had and always loved learning new ones. One of his favorite mottos was that “you have to grow old but that doesn’t mean you have to grow up!”

Over the years he enjoyed collecting many different things such as ornate rocks found in the fields. Dennis would often display them around his grain bins, always telling the grandkids that it might be gold.

Never was it a surprise to have Grandpa call and want the kids to check out the moon or advise them to study and learn a new subject.

Dennis loved to learn about the history of things and would often teach all of his family what he had discovered.

As the family grew, Dennis continued to be active in knowing what all his family was part of and attended everything he could. He would often call wanting to know how his children were doing but would first need to know about the grand and great-grandchildren were.

Frequently the phone would ring just so that Dennis could find out the score of the game or how the team/child had done, then one would hear, “That’s all I needed, give hugs and big kisses.”

Dennis would always talk about how lucky he was to have such a talented and successful family and was proud to have this as his legacy.

Dennis is survived by his children, Dan Leichtman of New Hampton, Jennifer (Adam) Schillie of Waverly, and David (Jean) Leichtman of New Hampton; his grandchildren, Nikole (Brett) Brinning of Hiawatha, Sophie Schillie and Dax Schillie of Waverly, Isabel Leichtman (Wesley Wegman) of Billings, Montana, and Ava and Bryer Leichtman of New Hampton; and, of course, his great-grandchildren, Alice Brinning and Hayes Wegman.

Dennis is preceded in death by his parents and one grandson, Hayden Schillie.

His presence will be missed beyond measure, but the memories will live on forever.

A private family service will be held at a later date.

Condolences can be sent to Kaiser-Corson Funeral Home in Waverly.