Leonard Prinz

Leonard "Len" Prinz peacefully passed away on November 11, 2012, Veterans Day, in Bismarck, ND. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 am Friday, November 16, at Church of St. Anne, Bismarck, with Rev. Ed Wehner officiating. Burial will be in the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, Mandan. A Masonic service will be held at 7:00 pm Thursday, November 15, at Eastgate Funeral Service, Bismarck. Len was born on June 8, 1939, in Chicago, IL. From the beginning, Len was known to be a kind, funny, giving man who was patient, but always let you know how he felt. The son of a barber in Chicago, Len entered the US Air Force in the 50s, and afterwards attended DeVry Institute to become a mechanical engineer. In December 1959, he married Sharon Taylor and was the father of two children, Scott Prinz and Kristin Steele; grandfather to four, Stephanie Prinz and Michelle Prinz of Florida and Jacob Steele and Alex Steele of Bismarck, ND. In the 70s, he moved with his family to a cherry orchard in MI, where he loved to snowmobile, fish and fix cars. This is also the same place that he started his first business. Len opened a small eatery where he invented the Willamsburger, which was enjoyed by many people from miles away! He also started a magnetic sign business and started on many patents; some of those were used in the making of the first commercial garbage disposal system, a scanner system, the first stand-alone fireplace, the clips used on drop ceilings, and the prototype of Mr. Coffee. Len worked and moved around the country for General Electric and Allis Chalmers; this is when he moved to Bismarck and met his second wife of 31 wonderful years, Denise Anderson. He then started his company, On-Site Service Corp, where he installed water and wastewater treatment plants one of his favorite accomplishments with this company was in Richmond, VA, where he was in charge of installing the largest man made filtration systems in the world! Len enjoyed this business for 25 years, until he retired east of town on the island where he and Dee would spend many evenings doing what they loved best together, dancing cheek to cheek. He also loved spending time on the island with his Great Dane Casey and his Jack Russell Mugsy. Len spent his final months with his grandkids, fishing off the bridge and teaching them how to fix many things, right to the very end. He was a member of the Masons, Elks, Moose, Eagles and the AmVets. Len passed away waiting for a kidney transplant, in lieu of flowers, please make donations in his memory to St. Alexius Kidney Dialysis unit. Also, his family is asking that you please take a moment and say a prayer and share a memory about Len on Thanksgiving, since this was his favorite holiday! Len was preceded in death by his parents; his brother Peter; his sister Lois; his brother-in law David and his in-laws George Anderson, Marybelle Anderson, Lyle and Ruth Taylor; and many wonderful pets.

Leonard Prinz

June 8, 1939 - November 11, 2012