Leonard Andrew Coyle, age 51, of Helena

Leonard Andrew Coyle, 51, died  on June 24th, 2013 doing something he had dreamed of doing since he was a boy, flying.   He was born December 19th, 1961 in Portland, Oregon to Jeanne Margaret Coyle.  He was the oldest of 3 children and when his mother died at age 29, Leonard, then only 11, had to grow up fast and fostered his extreme bravery and loyalty.  He became a Seattle firefighter and served for 19 years, most of those as a driver at Station 2 in busy, downtown Seattle.  He loved everything about being in the outdoors: photographing it, hiking, fly fishing, flying over it.  The only things he loved more were his wife, Carolyn and his 2 children, Jeanne and Sam.  They moved to Helena in 2002.   Not a day went by in 11 years that Leonard didn’t look at his surroundings and say how lucky he was, LOL-“luck of the Leonard” he called it.  He is survived by his wife, Carolyn and his 2 children Jeanne age 14 and Sam age 12, his step mother Barbara Coyle of Silverton, OR, sister Terri Coyle in Kansas City, brother John in Virginia,  2 adopted sisters Colleen Tillman and Mary Ray of Portland, OR and 3 adopted brothers James (Wisconsin), Jefferson (Arizona) and Pat of Oregon.  He is preceded in death by his mother Jeanne Margaret Coyle and his uncle and step-father, retired Portland firefighter Edward Charles Coyle.

A Vigil will be held at 6:00 p.m. Friday, June 28^th at Saint Mary Catholic Community, 1700 Missoula Avenue. The Funeral Mass is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Saturday, June 29^th at Saint Mary Catholic Community with the Rite of Committal at Resurrection Cemetery following Mass. A reception will follow the burial in the Banquet Hall of Anderson Stevenson Wilke Funeral Home, 3750 N. Montana Ave. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent to the Yellowstone Park Foundation at 222 East Main St., #301, Bozeman, MT 59715.To offer condolences or share a memory of Leonard please visit: www.retzfuneralhome.com.