Patricia Leonard

Patricia Anne “Pat” Leonard of McFarland, Wisconsin, died Friday 6 November 2026 at the age of 94.

The daughter of Alphonse John and Vera Marguerite Theisen, she was born Patricia Anne Theisen on 28 March 1932 in her grandmother’s home near Cassville. During her childhood she was immersed in a sea of family, with four generations of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins living and farming within hollering distance of one another.

Pat attended the Rigsby one-room school in Grant County, deciding on her first day of class that she wanted to be a teacher. She later attended the Elwell School, Cassville High School, and the Platteville State Teachers’ College. Her freshly-minted teaching certificate earned her the first of many professional positions: teaching at Rigsby. She was a teacher throughout her working life, mostly at Potosi; over a span of decades, her responsibilities ranged from college-bound High School English courses to first grade classrooms. She is warmly remembered by thousands of students throughout Grant County who benefitted from her skill and enthusiasm.

In 1956, while attending a teachers’ inservice, Pat climbed three flights of stairs and found Kenneth Leonard. They felt an instant connection, and in 1958 they settled into marriage like ham and eggs. For most of the next forty years they lived, and loved, on Irish Ridge Road near Cassville. A few years after Ken’s death in 1997, Pat moved to McFarland to be nearer her descendants.

In addition to being a published author of poetry and anecdotes, she was a fervid letter-writer, and throughout her long life she sent reams of advice, news, and entertainment to a wide selection of her kith and kin.

Pat was a beloved mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend. She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Quinn and Kathy Leonard of McFarland; by grandchildren Autumn and Isis Leonard of Sun Prairie and Verona, respectively; and by her sister Paula Erickson and brother-in-law John Erickson of Potosi. She is further survived by a vast network of caring family. She was preceded in death by her sister, Penny Theisen of Loves Park, Illinois, and brother Maurice Theisen of Rockford. She was also preceded by her adored and adoring husband, Kenneth.

A brief burial service will be held at the Cassville Cemetery, 11128 Valentine Ln, Cassville, WI, at 10:00 AM on Saturday 28 November 2026. A memorial celebration will follow on the same day, at the Holiday Gardens banquet hall, 101 Brewery Hollow Road, Potosi, with a eulogy at 11:30 and a buffet lunch at 12:00 noon.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider making a donation in Pat’s name to the Friends of the McFarland Library, 5920 Milwaukee St., McFarland, WI 53558.