Leonard (Len) Gene Misso

Date of birth  - May 7, 1943

Date of death  - December 25, 2024

Leonard (Len) Gene Misso, 81 of Mulino, Oregon, passed away on December 25, 2024 following a 12-year bout with cancer.

Len was born on May 7, 1943 in Rawlins, Wyoming, and spent his childhood in Rawlins; Denver, Colorado; and Saratoga, Wyoming. A few years after his father died, when Len was in middle school, his mother and stepfather, Pearl and Dale Johnson, bought a dairy farm in Mulino and moved the family to Oregon.

After graduating from Molalla High School in 1961, Len attended Oregon College of Education, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Education. He earned his Master of Science in Education, also from Oregon College of Education, a few years later. In 1967, he got his first teaching job, at Tigard High School. He continued working there, primarily as a psychology teacher, for the next 30 years.

While still at Molalla High, Len started dating Linda Zahar, whom he married in 1963. They lived in Tigard for a few years before settling in the Macksburg area of Canby in 1972. In 1996, he and Linda built their dream home on a portion of his parents’ Mulino property, and they continued living there up until his death.

Len loved woodworking, maintaining his 23 acres (including several acres of timber), reading, playing guitar, collecting vintage cars, spending time with his family, and watching sports, especially basketball and football, both of which he played in high school.

Len is survived by his wife of 61 years, Linda Misso; his sons, Brent and Brian Misso, and their spouses, Kathy Misso and Ken Swyt; his grandson, Erik Misso; his sister, Jane Getty; and his brother, Joseph Misso. He was preceded in death by his father, Tom Misso; his mother, Pearl Misso/Johnson, and his stepfather, Dale Johnson.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute.