Leon Leroy Stine, Jr., age 88, of Frank, died Tuesday, January 30, 2018.
Although he was born in Indiana, and raised in Mississippi, he loved his home in Pocahontas County.
Lee was a graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy and had a distinguished career in the United States Navy. He served in both Korea and Vietnam, and was awarded medals and citations too numerous to list completely. They include the Bronze Star with valor, the Navy Achievement Medal with valor and the Vietnam Service Medal with two Bronze Stars. He is recorded in naval history as the navigator on the USS Gudgeon (SS-567), the first American submarine to circumnavigate the earth.
He spent many years in the Coast Guard Auxiliary and was a 51-year member of the American Legion, most recently at Post 117 in Durbin. He was a passionate advocate for animal rights and human rights.
He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Dixie Benezue Stine; his brother, Robert, and wife, Mary Stine; his children, Lee Stine, and wife, Betty, Kathy Wilkinson, and husband, Jeff, Karl Stine, and wife, Beryl, William Stine, and wife, Tanya, Elizabeth Stine Wied, Jeff, and wife, Suzanne Kraus, and Yvette Payne, and husband, Ray; as well as sixteen grandchildren; and numerous great-grandchildren.
Funeral Mass will be celebrated by Father Arthur Bufogle at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church in Bartow Saturday, February 17, 2 p.m. Burial will be in the family cemetery in Mississippi. Lantz Funeral Home is helping with arrangements.
In his memory, you are invited to contribute to your favorite charity.