Edward "Ed" Vance Leonard

Edward Vance Leonard, dedicated family man and accomplished golfer, went home to heaven June 26, 2025. Ed, known as “Vance” during his growing up years, was born August 24, 1930. He was born and grew up in Longmont, CO.

He became known as “Ed” while serving as a medical assistant in the army. Ed started work toward a degree in chemistry before a course in calculus made him reconsider. He met the love of his life, Nancy Lou Hamilton, and completed his BA in business (a condition of her father’s blessing to marry her). Nancy and Ed married on June 27, 1959, in Chicago and lived briefly in Nebraska before settling in Albuquerque. They were married 52 years before Nancy’s death in 2011. Ed and Nancy raised their two sons Scott and Alex in Albuquerque, where Ed worked in the furniture department of Montgomery Wards. Ed excelled in sales and in the other love of his life, golf. Most golfers are lucky to get a hole in one at some point in their play, Ed scored nine in total. He was a regular tournament golfer and played several times in the Senior Olympics.

Ed is survived by the family who loved him and who learned many life lessons from him: Scott and his wife Christina, their children: Scotty, John, and Courtenay. His other son Alex, his wife Deborah, and son Alex or AJ. He will be missed for the kind, gentle man he was. Ed embodied the ideal of a man who lived by core values but also retained a keen sense of fun and humor.