Leonard F. Haider, 89, of Steamboat Spings, CO, passed away October 14, 2015 at Yampa Valley Hospital in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

A rosary and scriptural wake service will be on Friday evening, October 30, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. at Thelen Funeral Home in Redfield, SD.

Mass of Christian Burial will be Saturday, October 31, 2015 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Zell, SD. Fr. Gregg Frankman will celebrate the mass.

Leonard with be interred with the cremated remains of his loving wife at St. Mary's Cemetery. Lunch will follow. (www.thelenfuneralhome.com)

Leonard was born at the old Haider homestead west of Zell, SD, on October 3, 1926 . As a youngster he attended St. Mary's Catholic School and graduated from Redfield High School in 1944. He remained in Zell, farming with his father until 1945, when he was drafted into the Army. He served as a parachute rigger and weather observer and in December of the following year, he was honorably discharged at the rank of Corporal. He returned to South Dakota and worked in a gold mine in Lead. He then went to Oklahoma where he pursued his love of flying, obtaining both a private pilot's license and an aircraft mechanics license in 1951. He purchased his own airplane, a Taylorcraft BC-12, which he flew mainly around the Midwest. He ultimately ended up working at Moore Airbase in Mission, Texas where he met his wife and married on May 4, 1956. They eventually settled in Brownsville where they raised their 3 daughters. There, he worked for Union Carbide for over 20 years. In 1985, he accepted a job in Houston as Operations Supervisor for DESTEC Operating Company from which he retired. After the death of his wife, he moved to Oak Creek, Colorado near Steamboat Springs where he lived with his daughter, Jane and her family. He enjoyed returning to his farm life roots on their ranch, where he tended to horses, chickens and ducks, and his little dog, "Tino". Throughout his life, he was a devout Catholic, often serving as lector and active in many church activities such as working the soup kitchen for the homeless and poor. His favorite pastimes were flying and skydiving, hunting and fishing, camping, automotive mechanics, and attending airshows.

Leonard was preceded in death by his parents, Edmund and Caroline 'Lena' (Jungwirth) Haider; Angelita (Trdla) Haider - his wife of 55 years, his brother Raymond Haider, and his sister Mary (Haider) Betts.

He is survived by his brothers, Robert and Edmund Haider, and his sister Jean (Haider) Day, all of whom reside in South Dakota, daughters Rochelle (Haider) Hewitt and her husband Jess, Elizabeth (Haider) Daniels, both of Houston, and Jane Haider Clark and her husband Kenneth of Oak Creek, Colorado. He had four grandchildren, Drew Daniels, Jade Daniels, Megan Daniels, and Gillian Clark. He also had one great-grandson, Aiden Velazquez.

Leonard generously donated blood throughout his life and, in death, was a tissue donor.