Area Icon Dies at 85
Leonard was devoted to service
Debbie Pfeiffer Trunnell, SB SUN

SAN BERNARDINO - William E. Leonard played with a future mayor in area orange groves as a boy, rubbed shoulders with top brass in Tokyo during World War II and came home to better the lives of those not only in this city, but the region and state.

"He was truly a man of all seasons," said Albert Karnig, president of Cal State San Bernardino. "And we loved him."

After fighting a serious lung infection for the last few weeks, Leonard died Thursday night at St. Bernardine Medical Center.

He was 85.

Leonard, who was mostly known as Bill, was born Nov. 7, 1922, in San Bernardino to Frank and Laurentene Leonard.

As a boy, he ran around the neighborhood and area groves with friends, including Bob Holcomb, who went on to become mayor of San Bernardino.

At San Bernardino High School, Leonard was on the football team.

He met his future wife, Barbara Henderson, when she showed up with coffee and sandwiches as he was setting out smudge pots at her father's orange orchards.

The couple graduated from high school and attended UC Berkeley, where he studied business and she studied nursing.

It was World War II, and he enlisted as a private in the Army.

He was selected for officer training and ultimately achieved the rank of first lieutenant. He was sent as an officer to the Philippines and then on to become part of the occupying forces in Japan.

It is believed he was the first American officer to enter Tokyo to re-take the U.S. Embassy, said his daughter, Christene Leonard of Highland.

He and Barbara wed in 1944 and settled in San Bernardino after the war.

He earned his bachelor's degree in business administration via correspondence from UC Berkeley and began working at Leonard Realty and Building Co. with his dad.

By the early 1960s, he was already a leading developer and a founding director of Inland Action, an association of business, government and education leaders whose positive effect continues to this day.

Jack H. Brown, chairman of the board and CEO of Stater Bros. Markets, met Leonard when he used to meet with other founding members of Inland Action at the old Sage's Markets.

"I brought the coffee and he said, `Kid, keep this coffee cup full and you will go places,"' Brown said. "He was an inspiration, someone devoted to public service and an Energizer Bunny who just kept going and going."

Over the years, Leonard's prominent civic influence included chairing the California Highway Commission from 1973 to 1977 and the California Transportation Commission from 1985 to 1993.

He was president of the National Orange Show in 1966. He was also a member of the State Athletic Commission and the UC Riverside Foundation and active at First Presbyterian Church of San Bernardino.

A staunch supporter of scholarships, along with his wife, they directed a program through the church.

He also chaired the San Bernardino Valley College Foundation board and served as a trustee of the St. Bernardine's Hospital Foundation, in addition to work on many other local boards and charities.

An investment and business consultant in recent years, Leonard was active in the Inland Valley Development Agency's efforts to convert the former Norton Air Force Base to a technology park, commercial and passenger airport, as well as other private uses.

In view of his enormous influence in regional and state transportation issues, the state of California honored him in 1998 by naming the 15-210 freeway interchange the William E. Leonard Interchange.

"He was a visionary for the region, always trying to build coalitions in the community," said Larry Sharp, chief executive and president of Arrowhead Credit Union. "With the loss of Bill and recently, Martin Matich and Neal Baker, we have lost a group of very strong leaders."

In the same vein, Cal State San Bernardino honored Leonard and his wife by naming the university's new federally funded center the William and Barbara Leonard Transportation Center in 2006.

He was long a supporter of the university and an outstanding advocate for it before it was built.

He was one of the principal community leaders who proposed creation of a state college in San Bernardino - and at its present location.

In recognition of his contributions to the state and community, the boards of California State University and Cal State San Bernardino conferred upon Leonard the honorary degree of doctor of humane letters in 2007.

He was deserving because he was a good adviser and counselor in everything related to the university, Karnig said.

The honorary doctorate was one of many awards he received from organizations ranging from the Boy Scouts of America to the East Inland Empire Association of Realtors over the years.

Fontana Councilwoman Janice Rutherford said Leonard was always willing to share the knowledge he accrued over the years. She has worked 21 years for Leonard's son, Bill, a former assemblyman and state senator and now a member of the State Board of Equalization.

"He was eager to teach and point others in the right direction," she said of the elder Leonard. "He imbued in his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren a desire to be active in church and community and appreciate God's creation."

Leonard is also survived by another son, Frederick Leonard of Florida, eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Services are pending.

Donations can be made to the Leonard Family Scholarship Fund at the First Presbyterian Church of San Bernardino, 1900 D St., San Bernardino, CA 92405.