Leonard Steig, a lifelong farmer from the Butte area passed away on November 6 at a Bismarck hospital. A memorial service will be held at 10:30 A.M., Saturday, November 20, 2021 at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Butte, ND.  Arrangements with Nelson Funeral Home, Drake, ND.

He was 88 years old. Leonard loved to drink coffee, play Yahtzee with his grandkids, and check the pasture fence line on his trusty four-wheeler. He kept track of the weather and enjoyed connecting with his friends by telephone each day to compare rainfall totals, the temperature and grain prices.

Leonard was the 9th child of 11 – born in 1933 to William and Barbara (Kleingartner) Steig. He was raised on the family farm and attended the Byersville Township one room school for several years. The family later moved to Velva during the school year, where he attended and graduated from the Velva schools – but still spent the growing season on the farm helping to put up hay, raise livestock and small grain crops. In 1960, Leonard married Carol (Fedorenko) at St. Pauls Lutheran Church in Butte, and they spent the next 61 years together, working the land. During that time – they raised four kids, a lot of gardens, crops and cattle (dairy and beef).

Leonard was a 65+ year member of the American Legion (Lawrence E. Meidl Post #270). He served as post commander for many years. He also served his community on church, school, elevator and coop boards. Even though his 'clutch was slipping' (his way of describing his memory loss issues) – he had a good quality of life and kept his sense of humor all the way to the end. With Carol's love and care, he remained independent and on the farm until the last days.

Leonard is survived by his wife, Carol; his son, Larry Steig of Butte; daughters Lisa (Drew) Schestler of Velva, Lauri (Del) Sipma of Minnetonka, MN and Linda (Erik) Silvola of Elk River, MN. Grandchildren: Shawn (Ginger) Magee, Travis (Joy) Magee and Samantha Magee, Joshua (Julia) Sipma, David Sipma, Caro "K-Line" Silvola, Isabelle Silvola and Alexandra Silvola. Great Grandchildren: Katryna, David, Azaria, Serenity, Alexander, Preston, Ethan, Aurora, Nicholai, Jupiter, Anastasia and Alira. In-Laws: Virgil (Janice) Fedorenko, Duane Fedorenko and Ellen Steig and several nieces and nephews.

Leonard was preceded in death by his parents and siblings and many lifelong friends. No flowers or memorials requested. Send a good memory or happy story of Leonard instead. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Nelson Funeral Home, Drake ND