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Leona Theresa Baumgart, age 91, long-time resident of Grand Haven, was called to her eternal rest on Saturday, March 13, 2021. She was born on March 29, 1929 in Alpena, MI, to Anthony and Catherine (Donaijkowski) Boyk, the youngest of 10 children. Leona married Eugene R. Baumgart on March 1, 1947 in Napoleon, OH. He preceded her in death on March 10, 1996, after 49 years of marriage.
After their marriage in 1947, Leona and Eugene moved from Posen, MI to Grand Haven, MI. She was a former long-time member of St. Patrick-St. Anthony’s Catholic Parish, and later, St. Mary’s Catholic Church. She attended church every Sunday, and she and Gene raised their children in a house of strong faith. She worked for Grand Haven Brass for a short time, and later, cleaned houses for doctors and lawyers in the Grand Haven area, from 1963 to 1977. Once her and Gene’s first child was born, she left the workforce and stayed at home with their children.
For many years, Leona loved attending the Coast Guard Festival Parade and Fireworks, and would always look forward to seeing her favorite part of the festival, the Scottsville Clown Band. In her 70’s, she was quite physically active, riding her three-wheel recumbent bicycle for three miles every day for several months. She eventually got so confident on her bike that she rode in a few local parades, and even made the newspaper!
Leona loved animals, and especially loved her dogs, Ginger, Mindy, and Tiffany, who meant the world to her at different times throughout her life. She rehabilitated an abandoned baby squirrel she named Jake, and trained him to live in the house until he was old enough to be released into the wild. Leona was a life-long fan of Willie Nelson, and her family was most important to her; she especially loved her children and grandchildren.
Leona is lovingly remembered and missed by her children, Ronald Baumgart of Eaton Rapids, Allen Baumgart of Spring Lake, Karen Hildreth of Grand Haven, and her youngest child and caretaker, Larry Baumgart of Spring Lake. Also surviving are her 9 grandchildren, Scott Baumgart, Kevin (Annemarie) Baumgart, Erica (Jason) Meyer, Jaime Baumgart (Mike Nienhouse), Jason (Maria) Baumgart, Ashley (Josh) Sitzer, Sara (Jason) Hildreth-Heathcott, Bryan Hildreth (Shannon Nowak), and Jillian (Jeremy) Bender; 11 great-grandchildren; daughter-in-law, Melodee Baumgart; and extended family.
She was preceded in death by her son, Dale Baumgart on April 4, 2014; her nine siblings; daughters-in-law, Beth Baumgart (2017), Chris Baumgart (2019); and her son-in-law, Dan Hildreth (2017).
A Graveside Service will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, March 19, 2021 at Lake Forest Cemetery with Fr. David Gross officiating.
Memorial Contributions may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
For those unable to attend, the service will be live-streamed. Please visit: https://youtu.be/VXn8_loPVEo for video.
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Leona Theresa (Boyk) Baumgart, please visit our floral store.
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
501 St. Jude Place, Memphis TN 38105
Tel: 1-800-805-5856
Web: http://www.stjude.org/