Leo was born Winner, SD on June 2, 1952 to Robert and Vera (Pastian) Mansheim as the fourth of six children. He attended rural Gable School for his elementary years and graduated from Colome High School in 1971. He attended Mitchell Vo Tech before returning to Colome to join his father and brother Donald in the family farming tradition. Leo married Retta Dale Wilms on Nov. 24, 1972. They made their home on a farm north of Colome where Leo resided with Retta and their son Travis until Leo’s disabling stroke in October 2008, after which he resided at nursing homes in Gregory, Armour, and Winner.
Following the example of his father and grandfather, Leo’s life prior to his stroke, revolved around building a successful farming, dairy, and ranching operation with his family. Retta was in charge of milking cows and Leo was the “field” man.
Leo always enjoyed spending time with his numerous cousins, nieces and nephews that visited the farm for horseback rides, rides in his big Green Tractor and even rides on a pet dairy cow. A couple of his hobbies were bowling and snowmobiling. He looked forward to pheasant hunting season and all the good times and laughs with relatives and friends from across the country. He thoroughly enjoyed visiting. He could always tell a good story and enjoyed a good laugh.
Leo was a man of the soil and a hard worker. He wanted work done right and his way. Leo was a member of the Knights of Columbus and became a Fourth Degree Knight. He also worked with the Colome Jaycees and was very involved in 4-H.
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