Leonard Strear, a respected business leader, one of the founders of Shalom Park and a philanthropist, passed away March 18, 2021 at his home in Denver. Rabbis Joe Black and Steven Foster officiated at the March 21 service at Emanuel Cemetery. Feldman Mortuary made the arrangements.
Mr. Strear was “the quintessential entrepreneur,” said his son Michael Strear. “He basically started with nothing. His incredible insight and intuition carried him through the years.
“He worked hard and enjoyed life to the fullest. His smile was ever present for all to share.”
Mr. Strear, the youngest of four children, was born Feb. 13, 1924 in Detroit, Mich., to Morris and Sophia Strear, both Russian immigrants.
At age seven, his family moved to Greeley, Colo. and then relocated to Denver to start a poultry business.
He graduated from East High School and began his education at DU, until WW II intervened.
Mr. Strear was part of the landing forces at Normandy and earned a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for valor.
He married Irma Kagan Strear in 1950. They were together for 67 years, until her death in 2017.
Also in 1950, the Strear and Pluss families combined their family poultry distribution businesses in Denver and created a turkey-processing facility in Longmont.
The resulting Longmont Foods eventually became one of the largest employers in Boulder and Weld counties.
By the time the business was sold to ConAgra in 1987, it had grown to be one of the largest privately held, fully integrated turkey processing facilities in the country, with over 1,500 employees.
In 1989, Mr. Strear and his brother Sidney started the Strear Family Foundation with proceeds from the sale.
The foundation had a pervasive impact on Denver’s Jewish and secular communities.
Mr. Strear was past president of the National Turkey Federation and was one of the founders and lifetime trustees of Shalom Cares.
He contributed his time and energies to numerous non-profit boards.
Mr. Strear, an active, athletic man, skied and biked well into his 80s. He was especially fond of the family cabin at Grand Lake.
Leonard Strear is survived by his children Debra (John) Aleinikoff, Michael (Suzanne) Strear, Marci (Earl) Roper and Linda (Les) Liman; grandchildren Brian (Therese) Aleinikoff, Lauren (Scott) Sivo, Alexa Strear, Benjamin (Missy) Strear, Kevin (Anya) Roper, Aaron (Maria) Roper and Sarah Baumgartner; and great-grandchildren Lily and Tessa Sivo, Emma, Davis and Noah Aleinikoff, and Fiona and Axel Strear.
Donations in his memory may be made to Shalom Cares or Denver Jewish Day School.
