Leonard V. Hitchman Jr. Obituary (1924

On April 12th Leonard joined his wife Janet of 64 years in Heaven. He was blessed with a wonderful, full life raising 4 boys, two grandkids and one great-grandson. Leonard's mom Tena loved to tell the story of 3rd grader Len bursting through the kitchen door with the news that he had met the girl he was going to marry. And in fact it came true. That little girl, Janet Heschelman with the curly black hair, met Len in 1932 and spent 77 years as friend, lover, wife and partner. Len was a Queen Ann Hill kid. He went to John Hay Elementary and Queen Ann High School, graduating in November 1943. Immediately after graduation Len was inducted into the Army Air Corp and sent to Fort Lewis. He was eventually assigned to the 405th Fighter Group, Squad 511. Most of his training occurred in the American South where he became an Armorer for P47 fighter planes. He also became quite proficient with a Browning 50 caliber machine gun. In December 1943, Leonard's unit boarded the British Troop ship, Mauretania, for a 5 day cruise to Liverpool England. Leonard said it was a terrible trip because of seasickness and fouled plumbing, so he and a buddy spent the whole trip out on the ship's deck. Leonard's unit was station in SE England, flying sorties to France until D-Day plus 11 when they went to France and made an airport out of a pasture. That was the first of many airfields they build as they followed the tanks and infantry in close air support across Europe. Len got all the good Army grub he could eat and was paid $70 a month as a sergeant, the beginning of his wealth accumulation. After the war, Leonard took advantage of the G.I. bill and enrolled in the University of Washington in October 1945, graduating in 1949 with a Business Degree. More importantly, Janet Marie Heschelman married Leonard on June 29, 1946 in Seattle. They spent the next 64 years in love, peace, harmony, and piety. Sons born to this union were Kurt in 1950, Anthony in 1953, Leonard III in 1954, and David in 1960. Leonard also has two grandkids, Molly and Paul, and one great-grandkid Gavin. After graduation from the UW, Len joined Ralston Purina Chows as a territory manager. One of his achievements was developing a new business unit to supply mink chow to mink ranchers, which was then a developing business in British Columbia. Len moved to Western Farmers Association in 1964 as an Animal Health Product Manager and eventually was promoted to head their Feed Division. In 1980, Darigold lured Len away to run their feed mills in Oregon and SW Washington. He retired in 1987. Len was always a positive influence and a mentor to those he worked with. He was excellent at finding friends and workmates, a new job when an old one had been lost. He was proud to be a provider of the ingredients for meat, milk and eggs. In 1988, Len and Janet demolished the old beach cabin at Kingston and built a beautiful custom retirement home. Len resided over there for over 30 years, loving every day. Len loved golfing, hunting and fishing, cruise ships and traveling. But his greatest love was friends and family. Remembrances can be made to Children's Hospital in Seattle. A graveside service will be held at Acacia Cemetery in Seattle on May 2, 2018, at 2pm.