Leonard Andrew Coyle
He was born Dec. 19, 1961, in Portland, to Jean Margaret Coyle. He moved to the Molalla area when he was 12 years old and graduated from Molalla High School in 1980. He was a Seattle fire fighter for 19 years at Station 2 in downtown Seattle. He was an extreme outdoorsman. He loved photography, hiking, fly fishing and flying over the land. The only thing he loved more was his wife and children. He moved to Helena, Mont., in 2002. He had the pleasure of being a stay-at-home dad for 11 years. He is survived by his wife, Dr. Carolyn Coyle, of Helena, Mont.; children, Jeanne Coyle and Sam Coyle, of Helena, Mont.; step-mother, Barbara Coyle, of Silverton; sister, Terri Kerbe, of Kansas City, Kan.; brother, John Anderson, of Alexandria, Virg.; adopted sisters, Colleen and Mary, of Beaverton; adopted brothers, Pat, of Gresham, James, of Wisc., and Jefferson, of Ariz. He is preceded in death by his mother, Jean Margaret Coyle, and his adopted father, retired Portland fire fighter, Edward Charles Coyle. A memorial service was held June 28 and 29, in Helena, Mont. Memorial contributions may be made to Yellowstone Park Foundation, 222 East Main St. No. 301, Bozeman, Mont., 59715. To offer condolences or to share a memory please visit www.retzfuneralhome.com. Reprinted from the on-line Molalla Pioneer, Published: 7/17/2013. ------------------------------------------------- Leonard Andrew Coyle Leonard Andrew Coyle, 51, died on June 24, 2013, doing something he had dreamed of doing since he was a boy: flying. He was born Dec. 19, 1961, in Portland, Ore., to Jeanne Margaret Coyle. He was the oldest of three children, and when his mother died at age 29, Leonard, then only 11, had to grow up fast and fostered his extreme bravery and loyalty. He became a Seattle firefighter and served for 19 years, most of those as a driver at Station 2 in busy, downtown Seattle. He loved everything about being in the outdoors: photographing it, hiking, fly fishing, flying over it. The only things he loved more were his wife, Carolyn, and his two children, Jeanne and Sam. They moved to Helena in 2002. Not a day went by in 11 years that Leonard didn’t look at his surroundings and say how lucky he was, LOL — “luck of the Leonard,” he called it. He is survived by his wife, Carolyn; and his two children, Jeanne, 14, and Sam, 12; his stepmother, Barbara Coyle of Silverton, Ore.; sister, Terri Coyle, in Kansas City, Kan.; brother, John, in Virginia; two adopted sisters, Colleen Tillman and Mary Ray of Portland; and three adopted brothers, James (Wisconsin), Jefferson (Arizona) and Pat of Oregon. He is preceded in death by his mother, Jeanne Margaret Coyle, and his uncle and stepfather, retired Portland firefighter Edward Charles Coyle. A vigil will be held at 6 p.m. Friday, June 28, at St. Mary Catholic Community, 1700 Missoula Ave. A funeral Mass is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday, June 29, at St. Mary Catholic Community with the rite of committal at Resurrection Cemetery following Mass. A reception will follow the burial in the banquet hall of Anderson Stevenson Wilke Funeral Home, 3750 N. Montana Ave. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent to the Yellowstone Park Foundation at 222 East Main St., No. 301, Bozeman, MT 59715. To offer condolences or share a memory of Leonard please visit: www.retzfuneralhome.com. Reprinted from the June 27, 2013 online Helena Independent Record. |