Jerome Edward Jerry Leininger

Burial will be at the Calvary Cemetery in Creston. There will be a luncheon following committal at St. Patricks Catholic Church in Lenox.
Rev. Mr. Jerome “Jerry” Edward Leininger, 74, passed away in Corning on 30 January 2010. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made directly to the family.
Jerry was born on a farm southwest of Afton, Iowa on 11 April 1935 to John Albert and Margaret Elizabeth Pettinger Leininger. He was baptized at Saint Edwards Catholic Church. He attended Afton schools through his freshman year of high school. He graduated from Dowling High School in Des Moines in 1953. During his summers, he worked for the CB Q Railroad in Chicago. He attended Creston Junior College, leaving to enlist in the Air Force during the Korean War. While stationed at Schilling AFB near Salinas, Kansas, he was part of a team that began computerizing the first payroll records for the Air Force. He returned to Creston, completed his final semester with an Associates Degree in Accounting and became an accountant with Goodyear.
On 05 September 1959, Jerry was married to Saundra Kay Clem, daughter of Earl Harvey and Evelyn Minnick Clem, of Lenox, IA at St. Patricks Catholic Church in Lenox. The couple moved to the Des Moines area where Jerry accepted a job as an auditor with Farmers Grain Dealers. They resided for the next 18 years in Altoona and four children were born; Timothy Clem in 1960, Christopher Paul in 1963, Michele Anais in 1966 and Jennifer Andrea in 1971. In 1963, Jerry accepted a position with Iowa Grain Feed Association to develop a financial services department. . He served on a committee for the National Grain and Feed Association and was the author of articles for their publications. Jerry was active in the development of the Southeast Polk Catholic Community, taught in the high school religious education program, served on Altoonas Planning and Zoning Commission and volunteered in several Democrat candidates campaigns.
In 1974, Jerry was ordained a permanent deacon with the second class in the Des Moines Diocese by Bishop Maurice Dingman. Following ordination he served St Josephs Parish in Des Moines, St. Marys in Elkhart and Holy Cross with Father John Gorman.
In 1979 the family moved to Ida Grove where Jerry became comptroller of the local cooperative. Jerry served as a deacon at Sacred Heart Parish, taught religious Education, served on the Ida Grove Library board and on the Ida County Human Services Committee.
The family moved to Mooreton, ND in 1989 where Jerry became the financial officer and later
general manager of Southeast Grain. He served as a deacon in the Fargo Diocese to the parishes of St Anthonys in Mooreton and Sts Peter and Paul in Mantador, teaching religious education and confirmation classes.
The couple returned to Iowa and have made their home on an acreage near Corning since 1993. Jerry helped to facilitate the development of a community kitchen in Corning and in 1995 he started a family business, Windy Hill Orchard, with three of his children, developing and marketing fruit butters and pepper and fruit jellies under the Auntie Ms label at farmers markets and craft shows. He has served as a deacon in the St Patricks parishes in Corning and Lenox until his retirement from the deaconate. In 2009, Jerry and Saundra celebrated 50 years of marriage and Jerry celebrated 35 years as a permanent deacon in the Catholic Church. Jerry was a wonderful husband, father and grandfather to his family and a good friend and mentor to many others.
Jerry is survived by his wife Saundra, sons Rev. Mr. Timothy (Ruth) Leininger, Omaha, NE; Christopher (Lisa Troiani) Leininger, Beaver, PA; daughters Michele Leininger, Tacoma, WA; Jennifer (Michael) Erickson, Massena, IA; grandchildren Nicole Leininger, Natasha and Colton Erickson and Troy Leininger; a sister Dorothy (Robert) Reimers, Santa Ana, CA; sister-in-law; Gail Leininger, Redlands, CA; brother and sister-in-laws, Edwin (Pam Hobbs) Clem, Ames, IA and Paul (Patricia) Clem, Stevenage, England and a number of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. He was preceded in death by a grandson, Cody Olsen in 2008; his parents John and Margaret Leininger, his brother Phillip and his in-laws, Earl and Evelyn Clem.