Leon Richard Winkler, 63, of Platteville, Wisconsin, passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, September 14, 2019. A visitation will be held on Thursday, September 19, 2019 at the Melby Funeral Home & Crematory in Platteville from 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. Memorials may be made to the Leon Winkler Memorial Fund. Online condolences may be made at www.melbyfh.com.

Leon was employed for 28 years at UW-Platteville. His strong work ethic and morals radiated throughout his home and family life. He had a great appreciation for whatever he had and taught us all the importance of maintenance and not being wasteful. This made him a ‘MacGyver' of sorts and the go-to guy for anything that needed to be fixed. You could always count on him to walk you through the best way to repair, resolve or replace something. Those Culver's coffee breaks with his siblings discussing “what a guy should do” will never be quite the same.

Leon is survived by his cherished wife and best friend of over 40 years, Traci (Aka: Mir) whom he loved more than himself. His children, Nikki (Matthew) Jahns and Rachel (Drew) Dixon, who inherited his unique sense of humor, love for family, and deep affection for animals. He also leaves behind a legacy of love, creativity and fun to his grandchildren; Kensey, Asher, Beckett, Clarissa (George), Olivia, Elayna and great grand-daughter Arabella.

Leon loved his mother, Modesta Winkler, providing her with care over the years and daily phone calls. He will be sorely missed by his siblings, Carl (Wendy), Maynard Jr. (Candi), Gerard (Kari), Paul (Renee), John (Cyndi), Mary (Joe) Bendorf, Ron (Janet), Anna (Thad) Reuter, and James (Darlyn). He cherished his many nieces and nephews, treating them like they were his very own kids. He always looked forward to attending family functions as an opportunity to catch up.

Leon was preceded in death by his father, Maynard Winkler Sr. and Roger (Cris) Winkler.

His love for our God the creator and faith in Jesus gives us confidence that we will see him again in the future. This hope must keep us strong.

Leon Winkler

May 05, 1956 - September 14, 2019

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