Leonard Allen Picus of Mequon died Oct. 6 of leukemia. He was 80.
He was born in Friendship, Wis., where he graduated from high school. He was a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II and received a degree in accounting from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
In 1949, he married Julie Schwager and they lived in Adams, Wis., where he and his father, Morris Picus, worked in their family business. The couple had three children — Steve (Sharon Siegel) Picus of Mequon, Laurie (Allan) Weiss of Colorado Springs, Colo., and Barbara (Ira) Fleischer of Trabuco Canyon, Calif.
He moved to Milwaukee in 1962, the year his wife died. A year later, he married Ruth Aronson (nee Schnoll) and he welcomed her children — Sheldon (Adele Epstein) Aronson of Portland, Ore., and Barbara (Todd Mead) Aronson of Boulder, Colo. — into his family. At that time, he owned and operated Field’s Furniture in West Bend with his son, Steve.
After the death of his second wife, he married Lenore Kass, and his family grew to include her children: Jeff (Teri) Minkin, Terri (Gary) Mendelblatt and Marc Minkin, all of Milwaukee.
He was a member of Congregation Shalom and belonged to the Masonic Lodge, B’nai B’rith and a veterans group, and he supported the Milwaukee Jewish Federation.
His family recalled that “he always had a twinkle in his eyes and a smile on his lips.” He was known for his devotion to his family and “uplifting attitude and loving spirit.” He enjoyed working crossword puzzles, attending theater performances, playing bridge and gin, traveling and spending time with friends and family.
In addition to his wife and eight children, he is survived by brother Charles (Judy) Picus of Rockford, Ill., and 16 grandchildren.
Rabbi Ronald Shapiro officiated at the funeral. Burial was in Mound Zion Cemetery.
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