Leo C. Sayles, 82

Published 11:08 am Monday, March 21, 2011

Leo Sayles, 82, of Waconia, Minn., passed away Wednesday, March 16, 2011, at his home.

Memorial service will be held at 2 pm Sunday, March 27, at Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church 800 Waconia Parkway North Waconia, MN 55387.

Leo was born Dec. 1, 1928, in Rochester to Loren and Gertrude (Rustad) Sayles. He married Shirley (Deick) on Aug. 12, 1950, in Austin. Leo served in the U.S. Army before returning to Austin to become a foreman at Hormel Foods where he worked for 32 years. Then Leo was a motel and restaurant owner in Alexandria, Minn. He moved to St. Cloud, sold real estate and later worked in Employee Relations at Gold n Plump Poultry in Cold Spring, Minn. until retirement. Leo’s passion was his family. He enjoyed family vacations, camping trips, basketball games, card games and attending all his grandkids’ activities.

Survivors include his loving wife of 60 years, Shirley; six children Patty (Bobby) Wertis, Jeanne Rysdahl, Mary (Stuart) Moore, Julie (Rich) Christensen, Terry (Sheila) Sayles, Becky (Kevin) Feddema and 16 grandchildren Caroline, Bobby, Scott, Andy, Bradlee, Carly, Ted, Camille, Leah, Stacy, Kayla, Derek, Tyler, Kate, Natalie and Julianne.

He was preceded in death by his parents, brothers Paul and Jim, and grandson, Eric.

In lieu of flowers, memorials to UNICEF or Catholic Charities are preferred.

Arrangements made by Johnson Funeral Home in Waconia (952-442-2121 www.johnsonfh.com).