Marvin Gene Useldinger-Leach

Our dad, Marvin Gene Leach (Useldinger) passed away in his sleep in the early morning of November 12, 2023, at Edgewood Vista in Fargo, ND. He was under the care of Hospice of the Red River Valley. A memorial service will be held at the Fargo National Cemetery on Friday, May 10th at 2:00pm, with a gathering to follow.

He was born on April 23, 1936 in Warren, MN to Gerhart and Emma Useldinger. They lived in Grafton, ND at the time. Emma was married to Gerhart from 1925 to around 1942. Emma then married Harold Leach in 1942 and the new family moved to Fargo in 1945. Sisters Joyce & Shirley and dad were adopted by Harold in 1946. His older brother, Vernon, was already an adult.

Dad had fond memories of Fargo and often talked about his friendships, going to school at Shanley High for a year and knowing Sid Cichy & Roger Maris. It was a major setback when Harold was hired by Boeing as a machinist. Harold, Emma, Shirley and Marvin moved to Seattle in 1952. Dad never fit in with West Seattle as a kid and ended up running away, driving his '40 Ford to Streeter, siphoning gas along the way, to stay with Joyce & Melvin at their farm. He loved Fargo so much that he moved back when he retired.

Dad joined the Air Force in October 1953, before graduating high school, right after the Korean armistice was signed. He was proud of his service. Stationed near Seoul Korea for 13 months, he admired the Korean people for their resilience after the Japanese occupation and Korean War. He ended up at Fairchild AFB near Spokane where he met our mom (Dorothy Pierce) in late 1956. They married in January 1957 and had their first child (Peggy) in November 1957, second (Terri) in July 1959, and (Bary) in 1961. Marvin and Dorothy divorced in 1974.

Dad spent most of his career in the banking field; beginning with First National Bank in Sandpoint, ID in 1957. He changed jobs frequently and was never really satisfied with his career until his last position with Washington Mutual in Seattle, where he was a Vice President/Underwriter specializing in retirement facilities. It was a great way to cap off his career.

Dad loved gadgets and technology and shopping for them. He had a lot of friends at Costco. As kids we would fall asleep hearing him calling out his call letters on his ham radio. One of the first adopters of the IBM PC and Garmin GPS, he had multiple computers for multiple tasks and was always messing around with them.

He was very close to his brother and sisters, especially his sister Joyce, whom he spoke to daily. It was very hard on him when they passed away. He loved talking on the phone, even if it was just checking in and there wasn't much to say. Dad always rooted for the underdog (unless the Bison were playing) and was very generous with charities and proud to pay his taxes. He was a believer in reincarnation. I hope he gets to come back as something he really thought would be cool.

We would like to say thanks to Sam at Edgewood for her compassionate care for our dad in his final days. He really liked her.

Marvin is survived by his daughter Terri (Mike) Driscoll and son Bary (Sue) Leach; grandkids; Kyle, Alison, Sean & Nathan and great-grandkids; Elle, Asher, Genevieve, Charlie, Jameson & Del.

Dad was preceded in death by his daughter; Peggy, brother; Vernon Useldinger, sisters; Joyce Rivinius & Shirley Shepard and his parents.

Rest In Peace Dad