Visitation will be on Sunday, Aug. 4 from noon to 4 p.m., with a prayer service beginning at 4 p.m. at Spitzer-Miller Funeral Home, 1111 S. Main St., Aberdeen.
Leonard Duane Tollifson was born Sept. 9, 1928, at Devils Lake, N.D., to Harry and Amelia (Thompson) Tollifson. His early childhood was in Warwick, N.D. At the age of six, he moved with his family to Audubon, Minn. This is where Leonard attended school, graduating from Audubon High School in 1946.
On Nov. 18, 1950, Leonard was united in marriage to Lucille Larson at First Lutheran Church in Audubon, Minn. In 1951, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and served until 1953. The last six months of his service time was spent in Japan.
Upon returning to his home in Minnesota, Leonard went back to his job with Dan Dugan Transport in Moorhead, Minn., as a driver. He later became the dispatcher at the Moorhead Terminal. In 1957, he was transferred to Jamestown, N.D., as manager of the Dugan Terminal. He left that job in 1965 and became employed with the U.S. Postal Service, where he worked as a railway mail clerk out of Jamestown, N.D. In 1967, Leonard was transferred to Aberdeen, S.D., and worked on the Highway Post Office for several years. He later transferred into the Aberdeen Post Office, where he completed his career in government service. Leonard retired in 1991.
Leonard was a member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church. He was also a member of VFW Post No. 17 of Aberdeen and a member of the American Postal Workers Union. He was an avid gardener and a loyal fan of the Minnesota Twins, Vikings and the Northern State Wolves.
Grateful for having shared Leonard's life are his wife of 62 years, Lucille, of Aberdeen; one daughter, Cindy Herr (Clyde Hieb) of Aberdeen; one son, Steve Tollifson (Tina Lutz) of Aberdeen; one grandson, Mathew (Debbie) Tollifson of Groton, S.D.; stepgranddaughter, Brenda (Chad) Stapp of Aberdeen; one sister, Janice (Don) Larson of Hayden, ID, two great granddaughters, Marlee and Cali Tollifson and two step great grandsons Kadden and Brenden Stapp and several nieces and nephews.
Leonard was preceded in death by his parents, Harry and Amelia; stepfather; two sisters, Marlys Tollifson and Delores Strand; a brother-in-law, Howard Strand; a son-in-law, Tom Herr; and his great-grandson, Dylan Tollifson.
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