Leonard H. Grollmes, 94, of Seneca, KS, died Monday, September 11, 2000, at the Nemaha Valley Community Hospital in Seneca. He was transferred there from Country View Estates care home where he had been a resident since July of 1998.

He was born July 17, 1906 on a farm southwest of Seneca, the son of Joseph T. and Frances Meyer Grollmes. He grew up there and attended Sts. Peter & Paul School. After school he worked on farms in the area. He worked for Blaugh’s Café in Seneca as a cook for several years. In 1928 he went to work for Nemaha County where he operated a Caterpillar for road construction.

On October 26, 1936, he married Mary Olberding in Loveland, CO. They lived in Seneca. In 1943 he went to work for Union Pacific in Laramie, WY as a fireman on the 4000 series of large locomotives. In the spring of 1946 they returned to Seneca. Leonard and Howard Ford operated a hardware store in Axtell, KS for a year before he began work for Bauer Meade Agnew International as a mechanic in Seneca. In 1949 they purchased the Gilford Hotel in Seneca and operated it until 1952. He and his wife, Mary, built the Linda Motel in Seneca and operated it until 1965. He worked for Love & Osterhaus construction as a carpenter for several years before returning to operate the motel in 1968. His wife, Mary, died May 14, 1969.

On April 12, 1975 he married Hazel Van Verth Cook in Perry, KS. They lived in Seneca. She died September 8, 1985.

He was a member of Sts. Peter and Paul Church and the St. Joseph’s Society in Seneca. Leonard was an avid sportsman who enjoyed hunting, and training and caring for his hunting dogs.

Survivors are a daughter, Linda Loveall of Maple Hill, KS; a son James Grollmes of Perry, KS; a brother, Louis Grollmes of Albuquerque, NM; and five grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by three brothers, Walter, Paul, and Lawrence; and a sister Celesta Gudenkauf.

A memorial mass will be offered Wednesday, September 13, at 10:30 AM at Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church in Seneca. Inurnment will be in the church cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be given for St. Ann’s Altar Society, or the Kansas Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, or the donor’s choice, and sent in care of the family.

Lauer Funeral Home in Seneca is in charge of arrangements.