Leonard E. King, 82, died on Sunday, April 26, 2020 in Mount Vernon, Illinois. He was born to Floyd and Josephine (Baber) King on May 28, 1938, in Olney. Leonard attended schools in Olney, Noble and Yorkville, and graduated from East Richland High School in 1956.

He joined the Air National Guard/USAF in 1956, working in armor electronics. While in service, he married his high school sweetheart, Zola Gail Murray, in Springfield. Three days later, he started his employment with IBM in Springfield as a customer engineer. He retired in 1987 in Champaign after 28 years as a field engineer.

During Gail and Leonard's marriage, two sons were born, Kevin Brent in 1960 and Jeffrey Lynn in 1968. Unfortunately, after Leonard's retirement, Gail died in 1994 after a lengthy illness.

Leonard had many interests and was well read. He spent many hours listening to all kinds of music, building model airplanes and cars, attending car and boat races, dancing and woodcarving. He enjoyed being a ham radio operator as a teenager so much that he tested and received a license in his 70s.

In 2004, he married Gerry Swift in Urbana. They moved from Mahomet to Mount Vernon in 2017. Special thanks to family members who helped in many ways after the move to Mount Vernon, welcoming the couple with open arms and loving hearts.

Leonard was preceded in death by his first wife, his parents, two sisters and one brother.

Survivors are his wife, Gerry; his two sons, Kevin of Austin, Texas, and Jeff of Champaign; and his grandson, Scott Russell King, and Scott's mother, Laurel, of Quincy. Also surviving, from Leonard's second marriage, are Brenda Black and husband, Richard, Terry Swift and wife, Theresa, from Georgetown, Ind.; seven grandchildren; and 21 great-grandchildren.

Per Leonard's request, he will be cremated and placed with his first wife, Gail, in South Freedom Cemetery in Noble, Ill.

Hughey Funeral Home, Mt. Vernon, Illinois