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LEON NICHOLAS REDING JR., 76, Harrison

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Leon Nicholas Reding Jr. died Sunday, Oct. 16 (2011) at his home following an 18-month battle with congestive heart failure.

He leaves his wife of 60 years, Ida (May) Reding; his daughters, Evelyn Wilkerson of Willow Springs, N.C., Brenda Cramer of Fleming Island, Fla., Yvonne Servis of Harrison, Teresa Rotkowski of Harrison, Cynthia “Cindy” Pollard of Kirbyville, Mo., and Andrea Miller of Harrison; his sons, Leon Nicholas Reding III of Tulsa, Okla., Joseph Reding of Omaha, Jerome “Jerry” Reding of Batavia, and Matthew Reding of Omaha; 80 grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and many friends. Reding is also survived by his two sisters, Betty Fields and Mildred Smith, both of Fayetteville.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Helen Perdue; sisters, Marilyn Ruby and Hazel Kline; his niece, Cheryl Fields; his nephew, John Fields; and his granddaughter, Bridget Reding.

Born and raised in Aurora, Ill., the son of Helen and Leon Reding Sr. later moved to Shenandoah, Iowa, where he met his wife, Ida May. Their first date was at a high school football game. They were married Jan. 14, 1952, started a family, and later moved to San Diego, Calif. Leon worked at various jobs, including teaching math at Holy Innocents Catholic High School and teaching electronics at San Diego Evening College before settling into a career in the HVACR industry. He started an HVACR business in San Diego and later sold it before moving to Harrison in 1974. In Harrison, he again started his own HVACR business, A-1 Refrigeration Heating and Cooling, which he owned and operated for more than 35 years.

Reding was a parishioner of Mary Mother of God Catholic Church, a catechism teacher for 13 years, a lector, an Eucharistic minister, and the charter grand knight for Mater Dei Counsel No. 8410 of the Knights of Columbus.

Reding loved his family deeply and tirelessly and had great affection for his 80 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was an avid fan of John Wayne and owned every film starring the 20th century movie icon. In his time away from work, he enjoyed fishing and studying the Summa Theologica.

Reding had life-long devotions to the daily rosary, a novena to the Holy Spirit, and to St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio), whose quote follows: “My past O Lord, to your mercy. My present to your love. My future to your providence.”

Visitation will be at Holt Memorial Chapel from 6 - 8 p.m. Thursday Oct. 20. Funeral services will be at Mary Mother of God Catholic Church at 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 21. The funeral mass will be preceded by the Holy Rosary at 10:30 a.m. Burial is in Denning Cemetery under the direction of Holt Memorial Chapel.

Pallbearers include: Matt Reding, Jerry Reding, Joseph Reding, Craig Pollard, David Servis, Lee Cramer, Patrick Reding and Jonathan Waters.

Honorary pallbearers are all other children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

On-line condolences can be left at holtchapel.com



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