Hendrik S. Leopold, 79, of rural Mendota, devoted husband, father and grandfather , peacefully went to be with his Lord at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 11, 2010, in Heritage Manor Nursing Home, Mendota, of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, a rare brain disorder. A celebration of Hank's life will be at 1 p.m. Sept. 25 in Faith Bible Fellowship, Troy Grove, with Pastor Bill Ultch officiating. Funeral arrangements were provided by Merritt Funeral Home, Mendota. Hank was born May 5, 1931, in Groningen, the Netherlands, to Jan Cornelis and Margaretha (Stuivenberg) Leopold. He married Nancy A. Carlisle on Nov. 25, 1965, in Chicago. He was schooled in Europe through college and majored in business, electronics and five languages. After serving in the Royal Dutch Commandos Green Berets, he emigrated to the United States at age 22. He used his languages as he worked as an interpreter for both TWA and Lufthansa airlines. He then used his electronics knowledge as a sales representative for the Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands selling medical and dental equipment in the Midwest. He was an avid Ham radio operator, K9BCH, and also built a radio station and microprocessor. He was always ahead of his time when new technology was developed. Hank was very active in his church as librarian and webmaster. He enjoyed boating on Lake Michigan and was a certified captain by the U.S. Coast Guard, loved his garden, computers, model airplanes, astronomy and traveling in his motor home with his wife. He is survived by his wife of almost 45 years, Nancy Leopold; three sons, Gene (Jami) of Sandwich, Bryan (Irene) of Morris and Cory (Terresa) of Woodbridge, Va.; one daughter, Brenda (Jim) Adam of San Juan Capistrano, Calif.; 17 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by one brother and one sister in the Netherlands and one grandson. Hank is at peace with his Lord, cremation has been accorded. Memorials may be directed to Faith Bible Fellowship, P.O. Box 14, Troy Grove.