Harold Leon Swafford was born on November 9, 1938, in Anthony, Kansas to Herman Vance and Helen LaVerne (Cochran) Swafford.  Leon was the second oldest out of eight siblings.  Leon's love of the outdoors started at a young age.  He enjoyed fishing the local farm ponds and trapping on the banks of Bluff Creek.  Leon graduated from Anthony High School with the class of 1957.

After graduating from high school Leon attended a couple of years of college at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas where he played football.  He then went on to live and work in the aircraft industry in Wichita in the early 1960's before moving to Medford, Oregon in 1967.  Continuing in his love for the outdoors, Leon became a buyer in the sporting goods industry ending up at Black Bird in Medford.  His years spent at Black Bird would introduce him to people who would become lifelong friends.

It's an understatement to say that Leon loved fishing.  There are too many stories to begin to tell about his fishing days and times spent with his best friends (Al, Tim, and Dave) on his beloved Rogue River in Southern Oregon.  If there was a lake in Southern Oregon or Northern California, Leon had fished it.  Some of his best memories were of salmon and steelhead fishing on the Rogue River near Gold Beach and Agness, Oregon.  Leon also loved to hunt deer and elk, mine for gold, and hunt for Morel mushrooms.

On November 14, 1981, Leon married the love of his life, Gail Medcalf at the home of their friend in Medford, Oregon.  On June 13, 1985, the joy of Leon and Gail's life, their daughter, Shelby Diane, was born.  Shortly after Shelby was born, Leon and Gail moved to Klamath Falls, Oregon where Leon continued his career in sporting goods as a manager at Big R.  In the spring of 1993, Leon and Gail moved back home to Harper, Kansas.

After moving to Harper, Leon began his career at Green Line where he worked for nearly 30 years before finally retiring this past March.  Leon could do about anything there was to do at Green Line, but he mainly spent his years as a painter and builder of hydraulic cylinders and discs.  Leon and Gail bought D'Mario's Pizza in 2005.  Gail managed the restaurant and Leon made sure to keep the grass cut and looking good year-round.  Leon took pride in his yard and could always be found fiddling around in it.  Leon loved to garden.  He enjoyed growing cantaloupes, watermelons, cucumbers, green beans, squash, radishes, beets, asparagus, and tomatoes.  He also had an apricot tree that he was very proud of.  Leon's garden this year was definitely one for the books.

When not at work you could find Leon at Anthony Lake or the local farm ponds fishing.  If he was not fishing you would most likely find him on his deck at home enjoying his time (or shall I say telling stories) with Gail, Shelby when she was back home, and always with his cat Charley by his side.  Cocktails on the deck in the evenings, shooting his BB Guns at his cans, and watching the Mississippi Kites who frequented his in-ground bird baths that he built for them during their annual summer visits were things that he thoroughly enjoyed.

After Gail passed away in August of 2015, Leon spent a lot of his time making trips up to spend time with Shelby and her husband, Brandon in Lawrence.  Shelby and Brandon's close-knit group of friends were also very near and dear to Leon's heart, and they always looked forward to him coming to town.  Leon enjoyed his annual fishing trips with his buddy Brad and always had to be a part of the two annual poker parties that were hosted by Shelby and Brandon, one for his birthday in November and one for Shelby's birthday in June.  I think it's fair to say he loved to play poker about as much as he loved to fish.  After retiring in March of this year, Leon moved in with his brother, Tom.  Leon and Tom had really enjoyed their time together the last couple of years and after moving in with Tom they had big plans to continue to fish and do more traveling, which Leon always loved to do.  Leon's love and zest for life was so apparent to anyone who knew him.  He truly believed that age was just a number.  Up until the last couple of months you would never have guessed his age, maybe 44…but definitely not 84.

Leon passed away unexpectedly after a short battle with cancer on the morning of Friday, October 6, at his home in South Hutchinson.  Leon was preceded in death by his wife, Gail; his parents, Herman and Helen; his brother, Lee; and his sisters: Karen Williams, Gayle Horyna, and Brenda Maunz.

Leon is survived by his beloved cat Charley; his daughter, Shelby Hardtarfer and husband Brandon of Overbrook; daughter, Shawna Rogers and son Aaron McPeak of Wichita; his sisters, Linda (Phil) Allton and Pat Norris of Wellington; his brother, Tom Swafford of South Hutchinson; and his nieces and nephews that he loved so dearly.  Leon also leaves behind his dear friends, Al and Sandy Wells of Bend, Oregon and Dave and Vivian Strahan of Grants Pass, Oregon, and many more family and friends who all meant so much to him.

Memorial Service is 1:00 p.m. Saturday, October 14, 2023 at Prairie Rose Funeral Home, Harper with Pastor Royce Vogt officiating.  Leon was cremated and his disposition wishes will be carried out by his family at a later date.

Memorial contributions may be made to Rogue River Watershed Council and can be sent in care of Prairie Rose Funeral Homes, 613 W 14th St ~ Harper, Kansas 67058.