Leon Piper, 79

Leon Alfred Piper, Jr., 79, was born on November 7, 1946 in Porterdale, Georgia, to Rev. Leon and Inez Piper. Leon graduated from Avondale High School and Georgia State University.  

In 1968, Leon started a 36-year career at Delta Air Lines where he managed benefit plans for the airline employees, reflecting his great care for others. In looking back on his career, Leon valued the people he worked with more than celebrating his individual accomplishments and cherished those relationships long after he retired. 

In 2004, he retired from the airline and transitioned to his favorite and most fulfilling job – “professional grandfather” to his 13 grandchildren. During these years, he visited often with family and friends. He loved to travel, especially road trips with his beloved bride of 58 years, Hedy. They had countless memories in their convertible, with the top down, enjoying the sunshine and fresh air. Leon had an incredible memory when it came to the meals that he enjoyed on his travels. If someone was traveling to a new place, he would become a personal Fodor’s guide, regaling them with the stories of wonderful restaurants and meals in places near and far. 

Leon will also be remembered for his deep love of family. His devotion to his wife was his single greatest accomplishment; he would tell people that he saw her across the room at Sunday School when he was just 13 years old, and knew then that she was the one for him. He spent every day of their marriage supporting and loving her, and he would often say that the only thing he needed in life was her.

Their fruitful marriage resulted in four beloved children, and his legacy is carried on through the 13 grandchildren that he loved so dearly. He gave his children every possible opportunity in life, and always offered them unconditional love and support, which allowed them to pursue their dreams, follow their paths, and build their own lives. He was a devoted and loving father, whose impact in matters of life and faith will reverberate through his family for many generations to come.

After more than 70 years in Georgia, Leon and Hedy moved to Montana in 2020, to be near family. Leon said the Big Sky Country was the most beautiful place on earth, and he loved spending his final years there. His boy-like spirit was rediscovered as he walked the farm in muck boots, fished with the grandkids, and fed the pigs and chickens. Despite the change in address, he never wavered from his love of the Georgia Bulldogs.

His love of Jesus drove the decisions of his life – from an early age, he believed in Christ, and served Jesus and others throughout his adult years as a Sunday School teacher, a deacon in the church, the church pianist, and in quiet acts of devotion to God. Leon focused on small, intentional interactions to show the love of Christ and the good news of the Gospel to anyone who crossed his path. So fervent was his belief in the hope of heaven, that he did not want anyone to miss out on the opportunity to join him there. This included a lifetime devotion to supporting mission work throughout the world and small acts of love and faith to those in need or who interacted with him.  

On Tuesday, May 19, 2026, that great hope was realized, as Leon peacefully passed from this life into the next. He was surrounded by his wife and children, and covered in the love of his grandchildren.

Leon is survived by his loving wife Hedy; children Natalie (Scott) Williams, Allison (Ryan) Rennie, Katie Piper, Ben (Lindsey) Piper; and his grandchildren, Nathaniel and Noah Williams, Harrison, Davis, Caroline and Graham Rennie, Mary Katherine, Patrick, Vern, and Theodore Albertson, and Ann Wallin, Reeves and Ramsey Piper. He is preceded in death by his brother, Mark Piper, his parents, and his sister Arenda (Robert) Ramsey.  

Memorial services will be held in on Monday, June 8, 2026 at 3 p.m. at Glacier Church, located at 690 Grand View Drive, Kalispell.