Mark Hampton Leonard of Columbus, Mississippi

April 6, 1948 - April 27, 2019

Mark Hampton Leonard, age 71, of Columbus, MS, passed away from natural causes on April 27, 2019 at his residence.

Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, April 30, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. at First United Methodist Church in Columbus. Visitation at the same location will be held prior to the service from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Following the funeral, graveside services will be held at Morgan  Chapel Cemetery in Sturgis, Mississippi. Funeral services are being conducted by Memorial Gunter Peel  Funeral Home & Crematory in Columbus.

Mark was born in 1948 in Mariana, Florida. He grew up in the Florida panhandle in the small town of Blountstown. He graduated from Blountstown High School in 1966. While in high school, Mark worked as a prominent disc jockey in Blountstown, where he went by the sobriquet Ben Blue. It was from that experience that his life-long love of the music of Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, and Hank Williams was born. He went on to attend the University of Southern Mississippi where he earned degrees in history and political science. Soon after graduating he was hired by the insurance company USF&G as an insurance adjuster. After living in Meridian for a short time, Mark was tasked with opening a claims office in Columbus and became the youngest manager in the company’s history. Mark would call Columbus home for the next 44 years. Later in his career, Mark went on to work for 4-County Electric Power Association and Caledonia Natural Gas. He retired in 2009.

Soon after arriving in the Friendly City in the mid-1970s, Mark met and fell in love with Marilyn Greene, of Little Rock, Arkansas. They were married in 1977 and had three children. The couple remained steadfastly in love for 33 years, their bond cut short by Marilyn’s passing in 2010.

Mark found love and companionship again in Deborah Berretta Newman. The couple was married in 2015 and lovingly shared their lives with one another until Mark’s passing earlier this week.

Mark was a well-known and much loved figure in the Columbus community. He served with the Columbus Kiwanis Club for more than 25 years, served as president of the club from 2003-2004, and earned the title Legion of Honor Member. He also worked with several other community groups, including CAFB 2000, which proved instrumental in keeping Columbus Air Force Base open during the base-closure hearings of the 1990s.

Mark was perhaps most famously known for his unwavering loyalty to the University of Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles and the New York Yankees but will also be remembered for his legendarily encyclopedic knowledge of baseball, history, the music of the 1960s, and politics. He was a master story-teller, but more importantly, Mark never met a stranger, and in many ways, dedicated his life to spreading laughter and good cheer to all who crossed his path.

Mark was preceded in death by his first wife, Marilyn Greene Leonard, his sister Julie Leonard Smith, his brother-in-law J.A. Daniel Smith, his niece Alison Smith, his mother Vivian Williamson Leonard, his father Henry Clarence Leonard, his mother-in-law Mary Alice Greene, and his father-in-law James Robert Greene.

He leaves behind his son and daughter-in-law Wade Hampton Leonard and Ginny Lindley Leonard of Columbus; his son James Williamson Leonard of Columbus; his daughter Charlsie Morgan Leonard of Columbus; his grandsons Mark Lindley Leonard and James David Leonard of Columbus; his niece Rene’ Smith Old of Newport News, Virginia; his wife Deborah Berretta Leonard of Columbus; his step-daughters Kelly Jean Talley (Michael), Kimberly Denise Finch (Andy), and Casey Lee Clark (Rusty), all of Columbus; and his step-grandchildren Kyley Madison Clark, Ella Grace Clark, Emily Anne Clark, Logan Seth Burges, Presley Dylan Finch, and Graham Michael Talley.

Pallbearers and honorary pallbearers include Mr. Ronald Montford of Tallahassee, Florida; Mr. David Wilson of Louisville, Mississippi; Mr. Richard Williamson of Tallahassee, Florida; Mr. Terry Greene of Little Rock, Arkansas; Mr. Scott Greene of Little Rock, Arkansas; Mr. Billy Greene of Starkville, Mississippi; Mr. Jerry Parish of Blountstown, Florida; Mr. Stephen Boyles of Grafton, West Virginia; Mr. Jim Nowicki of Columbus, Mississippi;  Mr. Bobby Garner of Columbus, Mississippi; Mr. Troy Little of Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Mr. Bob Johnson of Hattiesburg, Mississippi; Mr. Marvin Stroud of Tallahassee, Florida; Mr. Fred Hayslett of Columbus, Mississippi; Mr. Richard Angelici of Memphis, Tennessee; Mr. Charles Hoetink of Atlanta, Georgia; Mr. John Dukes of Atlanta, Georgia; Mr. Michael Berretta of Atlanta, Georgia; Mr. Andy Finch of Caledonia, Mississippi; Mr. Michael Talley of Columbus, Mississippi, Mr. Rusty Clark of Columbus, Mississippi; Mr. Michael Meggs of Columbus, Mississippi; Mr. Mark Alexander of Columbus, Mississippi; Mr. Lance Cooper of Columbus, Mississippi; Mr. Jeremy Clay of Columbus, Mississippi; Dr. Gregory Schulte of Butte, Montana; Mr. David Jolly of West Point, Mississippi; Mr. Wayne Richards of Columbus, Mississippi, Mr. Cody Brown of Jonesboro, Arkansas; Mr. Chas Brown of Trussville, Alabama; Mr. Wayne Brown of Columbus, Mississippi; Mr. Jerry Mitchner of Columbus, Mississippi; and Mr. Justin Klieber of Columbus, Mississippi.

Memorials may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research  Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee. https://fundraising. stjude.org/site/TR/Heroes/ Heroes?px=2168236&pg=personal& fr_id=105980