H. Leroy Heppard

Hughes LeRoy Heppard, 73, of Ellensburg, passed away at the Kittitas Valley Hospital on July 21, 2020.  He will be laid to rest in a private family ceremony at the Riverton Crest Cemetery in Tukwila.

LeRoy was born on January 9, 1947 in Sullivan, Indiana to Delmar & Lysabeth (Morehead) Heppard. His family lived in Missouri during his early youth and moved to Seattle when LeRoy was 14 where he graduated from Pacific High School in 1965. He remained in the Seattle area, working as a custodian for Boeing, retiring following 32 years of service.  He moved to Kittitas in 2008 to be closer to his sister, Deanna.

Whether it was telling stories or fine tuning his taste buds at a Mexican restaurant, LeRoy was a people person and enjoyed being around folks as much as he could.  He loved to fish, ride motorcycles and very much enjoyed going out three times a week to spot hawks with his brother-in-law, Sean.  LeRoy was also a collector – his two favorite items to collect were belt buckles and ink pens – and he would spend many hours using the pens from his collection to complete word search puzzles.  He was very patriotic and an ardent supporter of the Kittitas Police Department, always telling them he was ready to be their “backup” if they needed it.

Having attended church his whole life, LeRoy loved the Lord and was very strong in his faith. After moving to the valley, he became a member of the New Life Assembly in Kittitas.  He loved to sing old hymns and “The Old Rugged Cross” and “Amazing Grace” were two of his favorites.

LeRoy is survived by his siblings Deanna (Sean) Hamilton of Ellensburg; Frederick Stephens of Bothell; Evalena (Tino) Madril of Puyallup; Juliaetta(Mark) Holt of Kent and Venetia Moore of Renton as well as numerous nieces and nephews.  He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Brent and his sister Janet.

Memorial contributions in LeRoy’s honor are suggested to the Children’s Ministries Program at New Life Assembly, P. O. Box 929, Kittitas, WA 98934 or online at www.newlifeassembly.net

Johnston & Williams Funeral Home and Crematory of Ellensburg has been entrusted with caring for LeRoy’s family.  Online condolences may be left at www.johnston-williams.com