Leonard Kian

07/22/1926

08/09/2020

Leonard Kian, of Grand Rapids, passed away Sunday, August 9 at age 94. Leonard was born in Brooklyn, New York, on July 22, 1926. He was a long-time resident of Grand Rapids, working as the fine jewelry buyer at Wurzburg’s Department Store, and later for Meijer, Inc. during the 1960s. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps (predecessor of the U.S. Air Force) in the later months of World War II, reaching the rank of corporal. He was a member of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Parent-Teachers Assoc., and Fountain Street Church, where he taught in the Sunday school program and later served as an usher. He and his family later moved to the Detroit area in 1970 where he worked for several fine jewelry retailers. As a hobby, he enjoyed inventing, creating a variety of cookware, commemorative medallions, and jewelry pieces, plus writing a number of letters to the editor at the Grand Rapids Press. He retired to Grand Rapids in 1989. Leonard is survived by his wife of 70 years, Josephine (also of Grand Rapids); son Robert, of Farmington Hills, Michigan; brother Albert, of Brooklyn, New York, and numerous cousins around the U.S. Cremation has taken place. A private memorial gathering for family and friends was privately held.

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One Response

  1. Robert, Judy is unable to attend due to an emergency with her mother. your father was one of her favorites and she will miss him very much. She’s in Remus with her mother and its not good.

    Sorry for your loss

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