Details

Collection Summary
Collection: FND001 - SHSND Foundation - North Dakota Heritage Family Memorial Program
Series: Tribute
Folder: DIG
Item: 271107
Title: Leo J. Voigt
Date: 9/20/1939-6/13/2024
Inscription/Marks: 9/20/1939
Summary: Longtime Bismarck, ND, resident Leo Voigt died on June 13, 2024, at Missouri Slope Lutheran Care Center after a long illness. A Mass of Christian burial was held at June 19, 2024, at Pro-Cathedral of St. Mary, Bismarck, with burial at St. Mary’s Cemetery. Leo Joseph Voigt was born on September 20, 1939, to Adam and Agnes Voigt in Bismarck. He was the oldest of four brothers and proud to call himself a “Boxcar Kid” because during his early years his family lived in a boxcar that Adam had made into their home. Growing up south of the tracks was difficult but it taught Leo the value of hard work and self-improvement that he carried his entire life. Leo attended Bismarck High School and graduated in 1958. He went on to serve his country in the US Navy where he toured the Pacific and learned how to repair instruments and became a skilled diver. When his service was over, Leo returned to North Dakota and attended ND State College of Science in Wahpeton, where he earned his degree in electrical theory. Leo then returned to Bismarck and after working in various roles he became a serviceman at JCPenney in downtown Bismarck. It was at JCPenney that Leo met Laeticia Kilzer and they were married May 10, 1969. Leo then took a job with the phone company and that became his lifelong career. He worked in Grafton, ND, Langdon, ND, Minneapolis, MN, and Bismarck, ND, before he retired. Leo was especially proud of earning his bachelor’s degree and then his MBA from the University of Mary as an older than average student. Leo was also very well known for his acts of service no matter where he went. In Langdon he was a volunteer EMT for the community ambulance and he was a founding father of what is now the ND EMS Association. After moving to Bismarck, he joined the Bismarck Rural Fire Department where he was a volunteer firefighter and later became a board member. He wrote grants for the fire department that saved taxpayer money and bought trucks and equipment that are still in use today. He was also active in various civic clubs like the Jaycees and he enjoyed being a leader in the Boy Scouts of America. Leo was also always an active member of the Catholic Church and served as Eucharistic minister and sat on parish council at St. Mary’s Church. Leo was also a member of the Knights of Columbus. During his life, Leo prided himself on being an advocate for vulnerable persons, especially the elderly, and after he retired he was a volunteer advocate for the elderly with the State of North Dakota. He would frequently go out to the elderly in the community to make sure they were safe and properly cared for. Another source of happiness for Leo was raising his family with Laeticia. He encouraged Michael, Melissa, Mark, and Matthew to work hard and always stressed the importance of education to them. Because of his self-sacrifice Leo provided all of his children with Catholic educations and they all went on to earn degrees, become successful professionals, and share in his sense of community service. After his family was grown, Leo enjoyed seeing his grandchildren and sharing his values with them. Leo was always known to be someone who enjoyed meeting new people and he could strike up a conversation with someone everywhere he went. Leo is survived by his wife, Laeticia; sons, Michael, Mark, and Matthew (Angie); son-in-law, Tom Horner; ten grandchildren; one brother, Max (Dee); numerous nieces and nephews; and many wonderful brothers- and sisters-in-law. Leo was preceded in death by his parents, Adam and Agnes Voigt; his brothers, Clarance and Marvin, along with Marvin’s wife, Marty Voigt; his daughter, Melissa Horner; great-grandson, Jermiah Rust; his father-in-law, Edmund Kilzer; mother-in-law, Karen Kilzer; as well as Charles Kilzer and Blaise Deichert, his brothers-in-law; and Michael Kilzer, his nephew.
Red ID: FND_I_78596 Image ID: 575976 Image Notes: FND001 271107

Collection: FND001 Digitized Images from Collection
Title: SHSND Foundation - North Dakota Heritage Family Memorial Program
Date: -

Summary: The North Dakota Heritage Family Memorial Program is sponsored by the North Dakota Funeral Directors Association. The life stories of deceased North Dakotans are featured in an archvied collection. Current partners in the project are Eastgate Funeral & Cremation Services, Bismarck Evans Funeral Homes, Carrington and New Rockford Everson-Coughlin Funeral Home, Williston Fulkerson Funeral Home, Tioga Fulkerson Funeral Home, Watford City Fulkerson Stevenson Funeral Home, Williston Nero Funeral Home, Bottineau Parkway Funeral Service, Bismarck Springan Stevenson Funeral Home, Stanley Stevenson Funeral Home, Dickinson These funeral homes provide recent obituaries to the Foundation, where staff and volunteers format, edit and archive each memorial. The memorials are posted, and copies are sent to the family for their input and approval. The listing currently features more than 13,000 memorials, and is constantly updated as new memorials and histories are received.

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