Obituary of Horace Alton Leopard

Horace Alton Leopard, 91, passed away Wednesday May 10. He is preceded in death by his parents, Marion Thornton and Essie Taylor Leopard; wife of over 56 years, Peggy Sue Snelgrove Leopard; and sisters, Francis and Helen. Left to cherish his memory are his son Jason Leopard; daughters, Lorilee Leopard, and Amy Sharp and husband Richard; sisters, Lois Greer and Shirley Greer; grandchildren, Jackson Lee and girlfriend Carli Wheeless, Kelsey Miller and husband Ben; and a host of many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

Horace, a longtime resident of La Porte, Texas was born January 18, 1932, in Henderson, TX. He attended Tyler Commercial College and was drafted into and proudly served his country in the U.S. Army 547^th Armored Field Artillery Battalion. After serving, Mr. Leopard received his bachelor’s degree in business from North Texas State University. Horace had a successful twenty-five-year career as a business owner in retail food sales.  During the late 1960s through the early 1980s he held all the Dairy Queen franchises in Pasadena, Texas.  His last 40 years were in Commercial Real Estate as an agent, broker and developer in the Pasadena and La Porte area. Mr. Leopard had a soft heart for new, small business start-ups and offered many individuals advice and assistance. He was involved with the Kiwanis Club and was awarded lifetime membership.  The Salvation Army was dear to him and, as long as he was able, you could find him ringing the bell for donations at Christmas or selling cases of red delicious apples as a fundraiser. As a member of the First United Methodist Church of La Porte for more than 40 years, he actively served on various committees, and enjoyed helping on church workdays.

Horace loved listening to Texas swing music, most specifically Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys.  As a young man, Horace played a stand up bass in a band (the Leopard Cats) with his father and uncle, sometimes even performing live on the local radio station. Horace enjoyed travel with his late wife Peggy. They visited much of the country and loved river cruises in the Pacific Northwest.  He especially enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren and spoiling them with trips to Galveston, San Antonio, Chicago and showing them where he grew up in Rusk County.  Horace was an avid genealogist, enjoying the search for relatives as far back as the American Revolution. Although computers and cell phones arrived late in his life, he worked very hard to get up to speed, always finding time for a couple games of computer solitaire.

Horace will be greatly missed by all who loved and knew him.

Services for Horace are:

Visitation: Thursday May 18 from 6-8 pm at the Clayton Funeral Home Chapel. Service: Friday May 19 at 11:00 am at the First United Methodist Church of La Porte,  9601 W. Fairmont Pkwy. La Porte.

Additional services will be held in Henderson, Texas.

If preferred, in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to provide life changing surgery for Cleft Palate through OperationSmile.org or store.MercyShips.org