Mike's thoughts from the funeral

Leonard Lorton Eulogy (8/12/2013)
As I was beginning to put this together, I knew there were no words that could do justice to the depth, compassion, friendship, sense of humor, thoughtfulness, among so many other qualities that made Leonard such an amazing person. Thankfully, his family and friends knew exactly how much he loved them so I don’t have to try to convey that. Leonard had a way of knowing what you needed him to be at any given time and he was always thoughtful enough to try to be that for you. Looking at the number of individuals here and knowing there are many many others that would have liked to be here but could not is a testament to the number of lives Leonard directly touched. Hopefully, sharing a bit of Leonard’s history and a few stories will help us all reflect on those times that we were able to share with Leonard and hear a bit about the other times in his life.

Leonard was born November 14, 1975 on Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio to Mary and Leonard Lorton. He was the 6th of 8 children.

In 1976 Leonard’s family moved to Missouri. I think his family knew he’d need that Missouri connection later on in his life.

A year or so later, his family moved to California. I’m sure he fit right in in California with that blond hair of his (yes there was a time when he had hair). Looking at pictures of little Leonard at varying stages as he was growing up, sometimes it is hard to tell whether you are looking at Leonard or one of his two boys.

In the early eighties Leonard and his family moved to Sterling, Virginia. Leonard made several really great friends growing up in Virginia like Jared Moon, Donnie Edgemon, and many other amazing people that influenced his life.

While growing up Leonard participated in Scouts and other church activities, played a lot of soccer, and had fun with friends. He developed his awesome sense of humor early on including a story that Donnie Edgemon shared where he and Leonard dressed up for Halloween one year as a couple of stars from eighties commercials -- Bartles and James. They went door to door that Halloween quoting the commercial.

In the summer of 1992 right before our senior year, I met Leonard when we both were playing basketball at the church (I know…it’s hard to imagine Leonard playing basketball at the church). We became immediate friends so seamlessly. It was friendship at first sight.

Right before school started Leonard and I met the Hale family who had just moved to Sterling from New York. It was apparent early on that we needed Andy in our little group and the three of us became inseparable.

The three of us only shared one year in Virginia, but from the number of stories it generated you’d have thought we’d have spent our entire childhoods together. I’m not sure we recognized it at the time, but it was a really special time in Sterling and there were so many great people that made that year so memorable.

Through the fall of 92 we solidified our friendship by spending time in the back room of my house listening to my dad’s record collection of 50’s and 60’s music, him working at subway and me stopping by frequently to keep him company, making late night runs down dirt roads to get Dunkin donuts, “breaking” into the church to play basketball….we may or may not have used a coat hanger to get through a couple of locked double doors, I admit to nothing. We got caught in the gym a couple of times and I’m glad the adults at the time realized there were a lot worse things a bunch of teenage boys could be doing late at night than breaking into a Mormon church to play basketball. The other main thing we did that fall was try to eat the Hale family out of house and home…I think Leonard and I figured since they had 8 kids at home at the time they wouldn’t really notice if 2 more showed up at their dinner table…..given how much we ate though I’m sure they noticed. But I very much appreciate how much the Hales allowed us to become part of their family that year.

As the winter began, Leonard decided he had learned enough basketball skills from battling and sweating on Jared Moon and his brother David that he was ready to try out for the high school basketball team. Legend has it that Leonard clinched his spot on the team when we were running sprints and in a break between sprints Leonard leaned over into the trash can and threw up. He didn’t say anything or miss a single set of sprints and went right back at it. The fact of the matter is Leonard made the team because he was a really good athlete and really good at basketball and because he brought all of the intangible things to the table that any team needs to succeed. He maintained that quality on every team he was ever a part of.

When the season started Leonard didn’t get to play much but it was apparent pretty quickly that he deserved to be playing more. He was such a team player. There was one moment when we were playing our rival team where Leonard played solid defense and then got a rebound and passed it to me. I dribbled the ball all the way down the court and shot the ball without even thinking of passing. I missed, but guess who had sprinted down the court to grab that rebound….Leonard got the ball and passed it back to me…and I’m sure not surprising to anyone that has ever played basketball with me I shot the ball again immediately. That was Leonard…so selfless and always hustling and doing the things that are necessary to make a team successful.

As the season went on, Leonard grew in confidence. I’ll happily never forget the time Leonard made his first three-pointer in a real game. He was sooooo excited and everyone was so excited for him. The Park View crowd started chanting Lenny, Lenny (a name he hated and they knew it but they all loved him and meant it entirely endearingly). It was a really special moment.

Kristen suggested retiring one of his sweaty shirts and hanging it on the wall at the church gym and that got me thinking about what number he was when he played for Park View….I couldn’t remember. Writing the story about his three pointer, I could so vividly remember seeing him make that shot and the excited look on his face that his number 40 came right back to me.

I have several more stories from that year about things like skipping school to go to Gettysburg, the three on three basketball tournament, our trip to New York City and so many more. It was a great year.

Seven days after Leonard and I graduated high school we packed our stuff, grabbed Andy and headed West. There are a few stories about some of the hijinks we got into on our way out west. Most of you have heard those stories and I’d be happy to share them later for those that haven’t heard them.

Leonard and Andy headed up to Rick’s College in Rexburg, Idaho and I came to Arizona. Leonard spent a year in Rexburg where he met up with a lot of friendly faces from Sterling and had a great time beginning college and mooching food from friends.

In 1994 Leonard was called to serve a mission in Hungary. I’ve heard a few stories of how he brought both his intense work ethic and fantastic sense of humor to his work in Hungary. He learned to love the people and the language during his service there. I know he touched many many lives while he was there and continued to maintain friendships after he returned. One example of the kind of friend Leonard was happened after he returned from his mission and was living with me and attending Arizona State and working at UPS. Leonard took the car that he was driving at the time, which was questionable for even around town driving, and drove all the way to a town called Cardston over a 4 day period to attend a sealing in the Temple for someone he had met in Hungary. For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, Cardston is in Alberta, Canada. It was an almost 1,400 mile drive each way. Leonard was that kind of guy; willing to do anything for a friend. I would love to hear many more stories from the individuals that knew him when he was in Hungary.

In the fall of 1998, the best thing that happened to Leonard in his life occurred. He met Kristen Kirk. He fell head over heels. I didn’t see him much that fall because he was busy courting and wooing and other gooey stuff. He was so happy scheming different dates he wanted to take her on, finding a ring, and thinking about how he was going to propose.

On December 6, 1998 he made the best decision of his life and proposed to Kristen on horseback, and asked to take care of her for eternity. Thankfully she said yes. They were sealed for time and eternity on March 12, 1999 in St. Louis Missouri Temple.

In 2000, while he was finishing up his accounting degree at Arizona State, he worked at a small firm. He worked there until September 2003 making friends and getting into a fun amount of trouble with the other young men that worked there. They have some great stories from that time that are definitely worth hearing if you get a chance to talk to the individuals involved.

More importantly, during the time he worked there, Leonard and Kristen were blessed with two perfect little baby boys. On June 24, 2000 Carter Grey Lorton was born. He was given a name Leonard had chosen many years prior. On August 25, 2002 Kirby Alexander Lorton (who was named after Kristen’s Grandfather) was born and their family was complete. Leonard was such a proud papa and rightfully so. His stories of his joking and fun with his boys along with their milestones and accomplishments have been a source of much happiness in our conversations over the years. Leonard was so good at telling stories.

As the boys were growing up, Leonard and Kristen opened their own business and began operating Southwest Speech Services. Leonard really enjoyed running all the business components of the operation and really took pride in how successful the business was. Like anyone who has tried to operate any small business, it is a huge commitment and there are sacrifices that have to be made, especially regarding time. Leonard and Kristen decided that they wanted to spend more time with their boys so they sold the practice and Leonard became an extremely fun stay at home dad.

I know he loved the time he got to spend with Kirby and Carter during this period. He had the time to have the experiences, teach the lessons, and share moments with his boys that he always wanted to have.

During this time, Leonard had many adventures with his wife and the Kirk family. Their travels included trips to Cancun (which had to be interesting with a tiny baby along for the trip), snow skiing in Colorado and Utah, fly fishing in Colorado, and enjoying barbecue in Austin. He also enjoyed his vacations with his family to New York and Boston and very recently Chicago.

Most recently he worked for the Department of Economic Security in various roles. He enjoyed this job very much. More importantly though, the relationships he formed with his coworkers cannot be overstated. He was loved and trusted by everyone he came in contact with. I have enjoyed hearing the stories from his coworkers about the really fun times they had with him in his various roles at DES. I look forward to hearing many more.

Leonard loved raising and teaching his boys and attending their track and swim meets, concerts, and other events. He really loved laughing, especially with his wife and boys.

Leonard always stayed busy. He enjoyed scoring goals for his indoor soccer teams and teaching the basketball players at the church both a thing or two about basketball and then politics afterwards. He was one of the few people that could talk politics and still remain friendly all the while. Leonard served in any way called within the church (as well as several ways that maybe he wasn’t directly called for but saw a need). He was so good at identifying where he could be helpful.

Leonard also loved working with his hands, especially with wood. The items he created and the improvements he made to his home are beautiful and a testament to the loving patience that he showed with everything he did, in particular the care and attention he showed to his family.

There was always no way that words could ever convey the love and friendship I felt for Leonard or that he felt for his friends or the devotion he had for his beautiful wife and amazing sons that who are growing to be outstanding young men in his image. Perhaps more meaningful than words, is the legacy he leaves behind through Carter & Kirby. Those boys mirror the very best qualities of both Kristen and Leonard.