Leonard Arthur Rank passed away December 2, 2022, at the age of 92. He was born in Lodi, California, on July 3, 1930. Growing up in the foothills of El Dorado County he spent his childhood on the farm working the fields before John Deere became a household name. He loved sharing stories of working with his Uncle George plowing behind the farm’s cantankerous mare. As a teen he often spent his summer days with a friend trimming trees in the area forests. These jobs defined the work ethic that challenged him his whole life.

Leonard attended El Dorado Union High School in Placerville, CA. Upon graduation, he enrolled at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo where he obtained a degree in animal husbandry.

It was in high school that Leonard met his sweetheart of 70 years, Dorothy May Potts. They got married in 1951, and had four children: Janice, Jerry, Jeff, and Jim. Later, in the 1960s, they decided four wasn’t enough so they adopted three more children: Jeannie (Nieves), Judy (Jones) and John Rank.

In 1963, Leonard and Dorothy made the decision to move to Central Oregon and purchased 80 acres in Terrebonne. Realizing that farming didn’t make enough to support his family, Leonard returned to his previous jobs: driving lumber and log trucks. Still reaching for the American dream of owning one’s own livelihood, the Ranks purchased an egg farm and eventually produced and delivered eggs to most of Central Oregon’s grocery stores and restaurants. Years later, the elusive American dream found Leonard back driving truck.

Leonard would say that choosing Jesus as his personal savior was his most important life achievement. As active members of the Redmond Free Methodist Church (now Mountain View Fellowship), Leonard and Dorothy taught many years of middle school children about Christ and the Bible.

Dorothy passed away in 2017. After that Leonard moved into Juniper Springs, a residential senior living facility where he lived for nearly three years. Always jovial he kept both staff and residents laughing. Now Dorothy and Leonard rest side by side in Terrebonne’s Pioneer Cemetery while their souls rejoice together in heaven.

A memorial service/celebration of life will be held at a later date.