Cynthia (Cindy) Christine Leonard, née Johnson, born June 12, 1957, passed away peacefully and in her beautiful way, surrounded by her family, on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025.
She cared for others. She was kind. She was full of grace. She was an excellent nurse, alto, music lover, and partner in crime, and always ready with a loving word, a laugh, a song. She was a great friend, who couldn’t help but share her light with everyone in the room. She was a devoted, loving wife. She was a joyful and wonderful mom and grandma, her favorite things to be.
She lived by a lesson from her parents: if you have to choose between being right and being kind, choose kind. That clarity and generosity was evident in all of her decisions, including her wish to donate her brain to research.
And in the last years of her life, although Alzheimer’s disease gradually took her mobility, her words, and pieces of her memory, it could not touch her spirit, her kindness, and her endless capacity for love. Her bright eyes, her big smile, her sense of humor, and her abundant grace were undeniable. She was her loving, selfless self to her last breath.
She loved her life. Born in Osceola, Nebraska, she was the youngest of five children of Rev. Robert V. and Eleanor Lavina Johnson. The family moved to Wakefield, Nebraska in 1961, when she was four years old, where her father led the congregation of Salem Lutheran Church, and she attended Wakefield Public Schools, kindergarten through 12th grade. Her happy and disarming nature earned her many friends. The family also built, in collaboration with family friends, a small cabin in Alexandria, Minnesota, where every August was spent running up and down between the screened porch and the lake, and the day ended, a little bug bitten and sunburned, reading stories and sleeping to the songs of the crickets and frogs outside.
Cindy graduated with the Wakefield Class of 1975, and on July 28, 1979, married her high-school classmate, Charles H. Leonard.
She loved her profession, beginning early, when she worked as a nurse’s aide at the Wakefield Health Center, age 15-18, and afterward attended Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Nursing. Her experience was extensive, starting with her first position as a floor nurse at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Lincoln, Nebraska, moving to McDonough County Hospital in Macomb, Illinois; Tri-County Hospital in Lexington, Nebraska; York Medical Clinic in York, Nebraska; American Lutheran Home in Menomonie, Wisconsin; as a med-surg nurse and ICU nurse at Myrtle Werth Medical Center in Menomonie; triage nurse and eventually Director of Nursing at Mayo Clinic in Menomonie; cardiac rehab nurse in Montevideo, Minnesota; INR nurse at Mayo Clinic in Owatonna, Minnesota; and as a Nurse Education Specialist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, where she loved to be able to spend an extended amount of time with her patients, a blessing in healthcare.
She was preceded in death by her father and mother, Rev. Robert and Eleanor Johnson; her father-in-law Cornelius H. Leonard; her brothers-in-law Don Sader and Mike Badger; her nephew, Michael Robert; and her niece’s son, Quinn Robert.
She is survived by her husband, Rev. Charles H. Leonard in Rockford, Minnesota; her children, Karin (husband Steve) Torrey in Bloomington, Minnesota, and Dr. Chris Leonard (wife Esther Soria and children Charlotte, Ada, and Sammy) in St. Paul, Minnesota; cat, Ted; siblings, Ruth Johnson in St. Peter, Minnesota, Sharon Johnson in Alexandria, Minnesota, Dr. Robert Johnson (wife Janet) in Lake Elmo, Minnesota, and Russell Johnson (wife Rachel) in Stanton; nieces and nephews, Brita Johnson (husband Ross Pulfer, daughters Ruby and Milla) in St. Paul, Minnesota, Joel Johnson (wife Cat Viscardi Johnson) in East Setauket, New York, John Prochaska in Stanton, David Prochaska in Wayne, Dana Krueger (husband Nate, children Henry and Allison) in Pierce.
She is survived on her husband’s side by her mother-in-law, Virginia Leonard in Wayne; sisters-in-law Anne Leonard in Sandia Park, New Mexico; Susan Voskamp (husband Jeff) in Rogers, Arkansas; Marcia Wild (husband John) in Edwards, Colorado; nieces and nephews Sarah Voskamp Brown (husband Martin, sons Wallace, Walter, Remy) in Rogers, Arkansas; Ariel Voskamp Lieghio (husband Anthony, son Dario) in Dublin, Ireland; Matthew Voskamp (son Daniel) in Rogers, Arkansas; and Dr. Carrie Wild (husband Ryan Molzon) in Saginaw, Michigan.
She was also surrounded by many wide circles of loving friends, colleagues, as well as caregivers who treated her as family, and are regarded as family in kind, at Brookdale Edina and Caretenders Hospice, who loved her and knew her most essential self.
We will be celebrating her life on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025 at 1:30 p.m. at St. Michael’s Lutheran Church, 1660 County Road B W, Roseville, Minnesota 55113, followed by a service at 2:30 and refreshments afterward. All are welcome.
Donations to the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota (ilcm.org/donate) are greatly appreciated, as well as gifts of time and connection with someone in memory care. She would also want everyone to find something to laugh about, especially in difficult times, and to hug someone who needs it. Condolences can be sent to Charlie Leonard, 9481 Scott St., Rockford, Minnesota 55373.
