James J. Leonhardt, 58, of Sycamore died unexpectedly on Tuesday, July 14, 2015.

He was born January 10, 1957 in Hoffman Estates. The son of Stanley and Charlotte (Chapman) Leonhardt. He married Karin A. Horn on May 23, 1981.

Jim attended Northern Illinois University. He was a compassionate Teamster Organizer for the IBT and long time member of Local 710.

Jim was a sports enthusiast and enjoyed being around family pets, especially Diesel, Rudy and Stella. His greatest joy was spending time with his family and will be remembered as a wonderful father and grandfather.

Survivors include one son, Bret Leonhardt; two daughters, Bridget (Matthew) Flynn and Alicia (Brian) Welch; two grandchildren, Kaitlyn and Liam Flynn; five siblings, Daniel Leonhardt, Jo Marie Phillips, Ruthie Kennedy, Ann Amedeh and Stanley “Buddy” Leonhardt; his special friend, Linda Robinson; several nieces and nephews and his mother-in-law, Beverly Horn. He was preceded in death by his parents and his wife, Karin in 2013.

A Memorial Visitation will be held on Thursday, July 23rd from 3:00-8:00 PM at the Butala Funeral Home and Crematory in Sycamore, with a wake service being recited at 8:30 PM.

A private mass will be celebrated on Friday at the Church of St. Mary in Sycamore.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to Jim’s family to be determined at a later date in care of the Butala Funeral Home and Crematory, 1405 DeKalb Ave., Sycamore, IL. 60178. For info or to sign the online guest book, go to http://www.ButalaFuneralHomes.com or call 815-895-2833.

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