Leon K. Lenz, a newsroom icon who retired from the Great Falls Tribune following a 35-year career, passed away on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017 after battling cancer and related surgical complications. He was 64.

At his request, no services are planned. However, his friends and former colleagues are encouraged to toast Leon’s life on Feb. 28 or March 1 to mark his birthday, which would have been on Leap Day.

Leon was born Feb. 29, 1952, to Ivan and Etta Ardell Lenz of Brady. His parents were both from Parkers Prairie, Minn., and Leon’s older brother, Richard, was born there. The family moved to Montana in 1947 and lived east of Brady for a time before moving into town.

Leon graduated from Brady High School in 1970 and earned a journalism degree, with an emphasis on radio, from the University of Montana. He worked briefly for a radio station before launching his career at the Great Falls Tribune in 1975. He served at first as a reporter and covered city government, among other areas.

He joined the Tribune’s copy desk in the early 1980s, working afternoons and evenings to edit articles, write headlines, place articles on pages and then complete proofreading of the newspaper before it was printed. Although it was a job that occasionally extended well into the morning hours, Leon said he preferred those late shifts.

Leon was known for his exacting editing standards, his dry wit and the cardigan sweaters he often wore. An avid reader, he was knowledgeable about current events and intrigued by all news, from local to international. He had an eagle eye for details, and editors from around the state knew that if they received an article from Leon, it would be well-edited. When he noticed information was missing from an article, Leon would ask questions and encourage the reporter to strengthen his or her coverage with the appropriate facts. He helped educate a number of younger colleagues about the importance of fairness and ethics in reporting, fact-checking, grammar, punctuation, headline wording and even headline sizes. Toward the end of his journalism career, Leon was in charge of the Tribune’s “A” section, the home of national and international stories and the paper’s opinion page.

Leon retired from the Tribune in 2010 and was active with his condominium association thereafter. He was an avid reader, continued to write essays on a variety of topics and wrote extensively about the John F. Kennedy assassination. He also liked traveling and the peach pies that became a tradition for Leon’s birthday. During his travels, he spent time researching Presidents Kennedy and Nixon, the Beatles, and other historic figures and events. He also enjoyed occasional stops at casinos. His knowledge of the news made Leon an especially strong competitor when playing Trivial Pursuit.

Although he was not outgoing, Leon was known for the small kindnesses he frequently extended, often quietly, unexpectedly and with his trademark touch of humor. He had a knack for remembering the interests of his colleagues and often shared articles on those topics. He kept in contact with some of his former Tribune co-workers and always remembered to send a note or small gift on their birthdays. At Leon’s retirement, one editor dubbed him the “quiet patron saint of thoughtful.”

He was preceded in death by his parents and his older brother. 

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