Leonard Wormstadt, 67

Published/Last Modified on Wednesday, Nov 25, 2009 - 08:27:57 am CST

Leonard Grant Wormstadt passed away on Nov. 23, 2009, at his home in Spearfish.

Memorial services will be held at 1:30 p.m., Monday, Nov. 30, 2009 at the Custer Lutheran Fellowship Church with Pastor Kent Narum and Pastor Tom Opoien officiating. Additional memorial services will be held at 10 a.m., Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009 at the First United Methodist Church in Huron with Pastor Don Crippen officiating.

Leonard was born on Dec. 13, 1941, in Huron to Walter and Lucille (Drumm) Wormstadt. He attended Hoskins one-room schoolhouse, which is now on display at the South Dakota State Fairgrounds, until the ninth grade. He graduated from Huron High School in 1959.

When he was 14, Leonard began a part-time business breaking and training horses, eventually working with several hundred of them. He was a professional bull rider and was the youngest member of the Rodeo Cowboy Association (PRCA) at that time.

Leonard married Cheryl (Marvel) on Nov. 10, 1963. Two children, Cindy (Karl) Forsburg and Kevin Wormstadt, were born to this union.

He was drafted into the Army in 1966, and served one year in Vietnam, where he was awarded the Bronze Star, Army Commendation Medal with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Ribbon with Devices, Sharpshooter Badge with Rifle Bar. Upon his return, he and Cheryl moved to a ranch north of Pierre, where he worked as a cowboy.

In 1969, Leonard began his business Dakota Roofing Company in Huron, which he operated until his retirement in 2002. Leonard and Cheryl then moved to Custer in the Black Hills. In 2008, they moved to Spearfish.

Leonard was a member of the Custer Lutheran Fellowship Church, lifetime member of the Custer County Historical Society and the Mile High Garden Club, a member of the Custer VFW and American Legion, and the Rodeo Cowboy Alumni Association.

Leonard survivors include wife, Cheryl; son, Kevin; daughter, Cindy and husband Karl Forsburg; nephews, Chad Wormstadt, of Kansas, and Mike Wormstadt, of Nebraska.

Preceding Leonard in death were his grandparents, Fred and Lucy Wormstadt; Carl and Pauline Drumm; father, Walter Wormstadt; mother, Lucille Wormstadt; step-father, Kenneth Tolbert and brother, Milo Wormstadt.

A memorial has been established in Leonard’s name to benefit the Rapid City Club for Boys Inc. or the Custer Lutheran Fellowship Church.

Arrangements have been placed in the care of McColley’s Chapel of the Hills in Custer and Kuhler Funeral Home in Huron. Written condolences can be made at www.mccolleyschapels.com or www.kuhlerfuneralhome.com

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