Leonard "Lennie" Charles Roark, age 76 of Flint was born on October 23, 1946, in Beverly, Kentucky and died on November 8, 2022, in Flint, Michigan. Lennie joins his wife, Diane and their son, Christopher in the afterlife. He is also preceded in death by his mother, Mary Wilma Carty and father, Herman Roark. Surviving are children, Joshua Roark and Amanda Roark (Dennis Rizzo); many chosen children, including Kymm (Crosby) Clark, Amy Schafer, Katie (Will) Luongo, Lori Blasdell, Erin Thibodeau and Rachael (Nicole) Frawley-Panyard; many grandchildren including Ariana, Sloane, Lily, Maeleigh, Ezri, Ski, Lilyana, Hazel, Dash, Liam, Jackson, Hector and Wren; great-granddaughter Alanah; sister Luella Roark Losey and many other family and friends.
Lennie grew up in Roark, Kentucky and later Kettering, Ohio. He was a weapons technician in the Air Force from 1964 to 1968 and served in Vietnam. When returning to Kentucky after the Air Force, he saw Diane walking across his uncle's porch and decided he was going to marry her. They married on November 27th, 1971, they are reunited for their 51st anniversary. They raised their family in Flint, in one home, never needing to rent a U-Haul. Lennie retired from General Motors in 2006. He enjoyed sitting on the front porch with his coffee, watching all the grandkids in the neighborhood play and the Black-capped chickadees in the crabapple tree in the family's front yard. Despite always saying "no more pets", he always had a couple of dogs and cats. He enjoyed old cars, Westerns and the History Channel. He had a jolly disposition, combined with his white hair and beard, and round belly, many of the children called him Santa and some truly believed he was. In fact, no one has seen Santa and Lennie in the same room.
His children and grandchildren loved all of his Southern sayings, like "stop wallerin' the couch","one to shit in and one to cover it up with" and so many others, some that may not be fit to say in front of mixed company. He told great stories, usually ending with a hearty chuckle. He always greeted you with his dazzling smile and "get yourself somethin' to eat". His southern cooking was loved by all.
Cremation will take place at Sharp Funeral home in Swartz Creek. Diane's wish was that her ashes be combined with her husband and son, and they be taken down to Jack's Creek in Kentucky. There will be a combined memorial service for Lennie and Diane at the VFW hall post 4642 in Linden Michigan on November 19, 2022, at 4:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations to the family are appreciated: https://gofund.me/5b1822cf
Saturday, November 19, 2022
Starts at 4:00 pm (Eastern time)
Linden VFW Hall
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