The world lost a curious, generous soul when Todd Allen Leonhardt, age 62, suddenly passed away on May 29, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio from heart complications.

Those who knew him will remember him for, among things, his pure stubbornness. Now while that may be a fault at times—a dishwasher can, in fact, be loaded in various configurations— his will of iron also meant that he fought incredibly hard to persevere through a number of health setbacks for his wife of 36 (and a half) years, Sharon (DiPangrazio) Leonhardt and his two daughters, Megan and Jacqui. Through it all, his mantra was simply "I'm fine." And for a while, he made us all believe it too.

Born in New Castle, Pennsylvania, Todd was the only son of the late Robert P. and Patricia A. (Weppler) Leonhardt. Yet Todd, never one to shy away from challenges, yearned for bigger experiences after graduating from Pennsylvania State University, so he sought out work in Kentucky before ultimately moving to Ohio. It was there that he met his wife, Sharon…and his days of wandering ended thereafter.

Well, mostly. After that, he simply took his family with him on his adventures. And what adventures they were: traveling to tiny Austrian villages straight out of Heidi where the chickens disappeared before dinner. Patiently sitting through countless afternoon teas for his girls from London to British Columbia to New Orleans. Driving on road trips to beaches up and down the Eastern seaboard where, in one memorable instance, a newly-installed car top carrier sprung open and whipped a week's worth of clothing and beach necessities across three lanes of an interstate for him to attempt to retrieve, dodgems style.

Todd was a problem solver by nature and that bled into every aspect of his life, from "liberating" giant shipping containers from NASA to build a backyard playhouse for his daughters (complete with lights and, eventually, a second story) to endlessly tinkering with his stereo systems so he could listen to bands like Pink Floyd and Rush interspersed with orchestral renditions of classic compositions from Mozart and Beethoven. Todd lived to upend expectations.

A pioneer and renowned expert in the field of powder metallurgy and rhenium-containing alloys, Todd served as the director of research and development and chief metallurgist for Ohio-based Rhenium Alloys Inc. for 26 years. And it was that decades-long career that fed his innate curiosity and allowed him to expand his horizons.

He regularly brought his work home with him, applying the same diligence he had for creating new patented alloys to his vegetable garden. If you didn't think gardening was a science, you've never had the privilege to see his ever-more convoluted seed germination set-up. Or a kitchen when he was cooking. While he was perfectly happy with simple meat-and-potatoes fare, over the years he upped his game by experimenting with smothering asparagus with Béarnaise sauce (not so successful, in Megan's estimation) to, more recently, making homemade french fries in an air fryer. Through it all, Todd never met a potato he didn't like.

Though he left us before the first of his tomatoes ripened for the season this year, his last days were filled with sketching out diagrams of exactly how he wanted his flower beds arranged and admonishing his daughters to water regularly. And he did get to see the first of his new mini zucchinis blossom and fruit.

Todd leaves behind his wife and his two daughters, Megan and Jacqui; his beloved cat Charlotte; his sister-in-law Lori Hlucky, her husband Emil, his nephew Jack and niece, Cate; his cousin Shawn Battles and his wife Shelly—as well as a lifetime of collected friends and colleagues spread across the globe.

The funeral mass will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 8, 2024 at St. Francis Xavier Church, located at 606 E. Washington St. in Medina, Ohio.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Todd's name with the American Heart Association or, given his love of animals, the local cat shelter Kitten Krazy in Medina. Online condolences may be left for the family at www.waitefuneralhome.com.