Obituary of Vernon Kenneth "Ken" Leonard

Vernon Kenneth “Ken” Leonard, Jr., age 76, of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina died unexpectedly October 12, 2020.

A beloved father, brother, Poppy, and friend, Ken loved life, people, music, cooking, martinis, and oysters. A native New Yorker, Ken was educated at Schreiber High School (’62), Albion College (B.S. ‘66), University of the Pacific (M.S.’68), where his thesis was on the reproductive behavior of oysters, and postgraduate work at the Darden School of Business (’86). A veteran, he served as Ensign in NOAA from 1968-1970 where he charted the ocean floor of the Pacific.

Music was a constant in his life. He loved all styles and genres and could be found cranking the volume up on everything from sacred Renaissance music and Mahler Symphonies, to Les Mis and Kenny Chesney. He met the mother of his three children, pianist Judith Cunningham (married 1968-1997), while singing in the Albion College choir. They moved to the Washington D.C. metropolitan area in 1970 where Ken began his career in the petroleum industry. After 25 years at the American Petroleum Institute, he went to work for Shell Oil in Houston in external affairs and upstream corporate communications. In 2010, he joined the Society of Petroleum Engineers as senior manager of Global Training Programs where he served until 2016.

After “retiring” to Hilton Head in 2017, Ken created his own consulting business, primarily working for Noble Energy through 2020. In retirement, he embraced this stage of life as a single man who began each day saying,” Thank you, Lord, for another day.” He served on the vestry at All Saints Episcopal Church in Hilton Head where he was also a member of the World Affairs Council. Already well traveled, including exotic locals such as the U.A.E, India, Australia, and Malaysia, Ken turned his interests to wine and art, enjoying trips to Argentina, Italy, and river cruises throughout Europe. A passionate photographer, he was quite proud of his landscapes and wildlife portraits captured throughout the American West in addition to sun rise and sun sets on the Island. Cooking was a lifelong passion. His children fondly recall losing their bathroom to a home brewery in the early 80’s when he was also making yogurt before it was a popular thing to do. This love never faded and even through Covid quarantine, he was busy preparing salmon Sous Vide, poaching chicken, and experimenting at the grill. He found delight in all things sci-fi, politics, his favorite beach bars, and Face Timing his grandchildren. In August 2019, his entire extended family, (including his 95-year-old aunt), and close friends from four different states, surprised him for his 75^th birthday. He frequently spoke about how much that meant to him.

As a father, his go to advice for his adult children was, “This too, shall pass.” Across his lifetime, as reported since his passing by his closest friends, distant neighbors, colleagues, or service professionals, Ken is consistently described as the nice, friendly guy, who took the time to ask you how things were going. As passed down from his father, his favorite toast says it all, “Salud amor y pasetos y tiempo para gustalarous,” which translates, “To your health, wealth, and love, and time to enjoy them.”

Should you choose to make a donation in Ken’s memory, he supported local performing arts, veterans, and religious organizations. He is survived by his three children, Lisa, Brock, and Lindsay, brothers Gary and Dick, 1 aunt, 4 grandchildren, 4 nieces and nephews, and his truly cherished friends.