Viola Leonhardt

Ocean Park, Washington

Dec. 23, 1928 — Feb. 2, 2022

Viola was born in Arthyde, Minnesota, on Dec. 23, 1928. Her parents, Fred Hendrickson and Vieno (Warpula) Hendrickson, spoke only Finnish, and Viola learned to speak English at Lepisto School, a one-room schoolhouse in rural north central Minnesota.

Viola shared memories of trudging through very deep snow with her older brother, Edwin, getting her tongue stuck on an icy chinning bar just like the scene in the classic holiday move, “A Christmas Story.” Her favorite time at school was recess, when the children were allowed to chatter with one another in Finnish, as it was English only in the classroom.

In 1938, her family auctioned their dairy farm in Minnesota, loaded up the Model A Ford, and headed for Taft (Lincoln City). The seemingly endless drive featured many bologna sandwiches on homemade bread, and scary times on the narrow passes over the Rocky Mountains. In her adult years, Viola never, ever was fond of bologna or high places.

Her teen years in Taft were spent relishing school and activities, working at the soda fountain at the Taft Drug Store and helping with milk house chores at the small family dairy farm.

Her parents moved to Portland at the start of World War II, where they bought a boarding house and worked in the shipyards. Upon her graduation from Taft High School in 1946, Viola joined them and went to work at Federal Reserve Bank in downtown Portland.

It was in Portland, in 1947, through mutual friends, that she met Harold Leonhardt, who had asked “who is the girl in the red coat?” After dating for a few months, they married on Oct. 18, 1947.

In 1953, they moved to their home on Youngs River Road in Astoria. Viola was a stay-at-home mom until 1965, when she went to work as a teacher’s assistant at Lewis and Clark Consolidated School.

For several years prior to her retirement in 1988, she worked in the library in the K-8 school. She had a wonderful knack for steering each child toward a book she felt would encourage them to share her love of reading.

One of her favorite accomplishments was learning to tap dance at age 50. She and two of her contemporaries in the class savored the applause they received while dancing to “Puttin’ on the Ritz” during the annual Astoria dance recital.

After her husband passed away in 2005, she remained in Astoria until 2008, when she moved to South Bend, Washington. She made many friends there, and especially enjoyed their regular Friday morning restaurant date known as “old people’s breakfast” at a local restaurant with attendees from ages 5 to 80-plus.

She enjoyed extraordinarily good health throughout her life (which she attributed to Minnesota well water) until 2016, when she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

A Finnish woman with much “sisu,” she continued to live on her own until 2019, when she decided assisted living might be a good idea. As her disease progressed, she spent her last year at Coastal Care in Ocean Park, Washington, where she received never-ending love and assistance from her caregivers.

She passed peacefully on Feb. 2, 2022.

Viola was preceded in death by her husband of 57 years, Harold Leonhardt; parents, Fred and Vieno Hendrickson; brother, Edwin Hendrickson; and son-in-law, Andy Overby.

She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, David Leonhardt and Connie Haas, of Sherwood; grandsons, Joe Leonhardt (Jess Campbell), of Cottage Grove, and Tim Leonhardt, of Sherwood; daughter, Julie Overby and “dear one” Mike Wagenblast, of South Bend; granddaughter, Erika Overby and grandson Joseph Overby, both of South Bend; nephews, Bob Walsh, of Seaside, and Mike Walsh, of Mulino; and nieces, Susan Mickelberry, of Portland, Carol Feltz, of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and Connie Herring and Mary LeFebvre, both of Lincoln City.

The family will host a celebration of life in Viola’s memory at Suomi Hall (United Finnish Kaleva Brothers & Sisters) in Astoria this spring. The date and time will be announced.

In remembrance of Viola’s life, the family suggests any charitable donations be made to: Friends of Suomi Hall, P.O. Box 146, Astoria, OR., 97103; or to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, P.O. Box 5014, Hagerstown, MD., 21741-5014.