• Memorial Visitation will be held on Saturday, May 16th, 2026 from 11am until the time of service at 1pm at HERITAGE FUNERAL HOME (16880 W. National Ave, New Berlin Wi).
• Memorial Service and Military Honors will be held immediately following visitation.

 

 

Col. Stephen R. Leopold (USA, Ret.)

It is with the heaviest of hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, Col. Stephen (“Steve”) Ryder Leopold (USA, Ret.) on April 7, 2026. He will truly be missed by family, friends, and military cronies.

Steve was born on June 19, 1944 in Jefferson City, Missouri to Charles Leopold and Pauline Leopold. Steve was the youngest and had two older sisters, Virginia and Jocelyn. While he had no real memory of living in Missouri, he always assured us that’s where he was born. His family relocated to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma when Steve was very young and he spent the majority of his childhood as an “Oakie” (Steve told us that since he was an Oakie, he was allowed to use the phrase). Steve spent his years as a young boy in Oklahoma City enjoying Little League Baseball, playing with his friends, seeing Elvis in concert, and attending the Oklahoma Girl Scout Jamboree with his mother, much to his chagrin.

Steve relocated to Shorewood, Wisconsin with his family when he was entering his first year of high school. He attended Shorewood High School where he played numerous sports and lettered, was editor of the school newspaper, and received a National Merit Scholarship for his stellar academics. Steve would always tell humorous and somewhat self-deprecating stories about the first time he experienced real snowfall after moving to Shorewood. When he was told to shovel and remove the snow by his parents, that’s exactly what he did: by shoveling the snow directly into the garbage can. He quickly learned from his peers and neighbors that the trash can is for trash, and the curb is for snow. Although Steve loved Shorewood, he always said that the fried chicken in the greater Milwaukee area could never hold up to Oklahoma City fried chicken (we are still trying to figure out what that means).

After graduating from Shorewood High School, Steve attended Stanford University. Although he had also been admitted to Harvard University, Steve always said Stanford was his top choice because of the full scholarship he received…and better weather in California. Steve treasured his time at Stanford and always said it was one of the best times of his life and would tell tales about a “young Joanie Baez” singing songs in one of the dorm common rooms. He was editor of the Stanford paper while majoring in political science, government, and history. Steve graduated from Stanford University Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa. He would return to campus many times later in his life for class reunions.

Shortly after his 22nd birthday, Steve entered Infantry Officer Candidate School in 1966, where almost a year later he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant of Infantry in the United States Army. After his commission, Steve completed basic airborne training and Special Forces Officer training. In 1968, Steve was sent to fight in the war in Vietnam. On May 9, 1968 he was captured as a Prisoner of War by the North Vietnamese Army near the Central Highlands of what was South Vietnam. Steve always said he knew it was the NVA because other opposing groups didn’t have the foresight to take prisoners.

Steve was held as a POW by the NVA from 1968 until he was released on March 5, 1973. It doesn’t need to be explained what kind of stress and pain Steve was subjected to or went through, because the only people who would ever fully understand are people who had the same experience. Steve was held at infamous POW “camps” such as The Plantation, The Hanoi Hilton, and POW Camp 101. Despite interrogations, Steve never gave up any state secrets or turned against his country. He remained steadfast and busied his mind imagining all of the places he would travel when he was freed. Steve also had an eidetic memory at the time and made mental lists of all the POWs that passed through the camps or did not make it home. He

was integral in providing names and lists of soldiers who were listed as Missing in Action who passed through these camps.

After being released as a POW on March 5, 1973 during Operation Homecoming, Steve returned home to see his family in Shorewood and promptly left to go backpacking around the world. Steve spent the next nine months meeting friends and seeing all of the places he imagined while imprisoned. He fondly remembered visiting Beirut (the “Paris” of the Middle East) and having the worst hangover of his life after drinking cheap Chianti in Italy. Steve finally returned home from Egypt and began as a political science TA at University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee in 1975 where he promptly reconnected with a girl he met before leaving and was married to Kristine Leopold. At this time, Steve also retired from active duty and went into reserve status where he remained until the late 1990’s after he was promoted to Colonel.

Steve and Kristine had two children: Christopher Charles in 1977 and Cassandra Ryder in 1980. Both pregnancies came somewhat as a surprise because neither Steve nor Kristine were sure that Steve could have children after being a POW, but the universe had other plans. During the late 1970s, Steve decided to enter local politics. He was promptly elected as a Wisconsin state legislator and would later tell us he had the pleasure and dignity to carpool to Madison, Wisconsin with Marcia P. Coggs. Steve worked hard to represent his constituents and Veterans who had recently returned from the war. After Steve was “done with politics”, he decided to change careers. This time, as Steve put it, he decided to “really scrape the bottom of the barrel”: He went to law school at Marquette University and become an attorney.

Although Steve and Kristine divorced, Steve was an active parent in his childrens’ lives. Christopher and Cassandra spent summers visiting him in San Francisco, going to see the Milwaukee Brewers, and driving to Arizona to visit Grandpa Charles and Grandma Pauline.

When Steve eventually moved back to Milwaukee, he began working as appointed counsel for adult defendants and also handled juvenile and parental rights cases. For Steve, he swore an oath numerous times to uphold and defend the Constitution, this also included ensuring that defendants’ civil rights were protected.

Christopher and Cassandra eventually grew up, and Steve eased nicely into his “Golden Years”. Christopher married Ellen Leopold and Cassandra married Allain Daigle. Christopher and Ellen had three children: Noah, Analeigh (“Annie”) and Maxine (“Max”). Steve’s grandchildren absolutely adored their Grandpa Steve. Grandpa Steve took his grandchildren on numerous adventures. Not only did they attend an inordinate amount of Brewers games, they went to the zoo, the symphony, the ballet, Summerfest, the Wisconsin State Fair, and everyone’s favorite: betting on the ponies at Arlington Park Race Track.

Grandpa Steve was more supportive of his grandchildren than most grandparents. He ensured Noah had a new baseball bat every year (even though Steve bristled at the cost of baseball bats when he simply used a Louisville Slugger and felt a shattered bat builds character) and that Noah was on every travelling team he qualified for. Annie spent ten years as a student at the Milwaukee Ballet School and if Steve was in town, he was sure to be found at her performance occasionally taking a nap. After Max had tried her hand at a few things and finally landed on roller derby, Grandpa Steve was with Max at the roller skate store buying her speed roller skates while laughing at the fact that roller derby was even still a thing. But with his giving, Steve ensured that his grandchildren knew how lucky they were and to instill a sense of social responsibility. All of Steve’s grandchildren spent many weekends volunteering with Grandpa at DAV Forget-Me-Not Drives at local grocery stores. Even though Steve didn’t have much time with his great-granddaughters before he passed, he adored both Lianiese and Mona

and could sit and watch them play for hours and made sure they both saw their first Brewers games within the first two months of their lives.

Steve remained active with his local Special Forces chapter and the DAV until he passed. He loved his military friends and spent years volunteering to drive transport vans to get disabled American Veterans to their VA appointments. Steve firmly believed that veterans who lost limbs due to combat should be afforded the same benefits as POWs. He also believed that winters in Wisconsin were nonsense and became a snow bird and would spend every winter in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. He made friends with locals and various ex-pats from the US and Canada. We are forever grateful for his friends who were there with him and for his family after his passing.

Steve is survived by his children, Christopher, Ellen, Cassandra, and Allain; his grandchildren Noah, Annie, and Max; and his great-grandchildren, LeeLee and Mona; his niece Sager and her family; and too many friends to count. Memorial information for Milwaukee, WI to follow and a private interment will be held at Arlington Memorial Cemetery at a later date.

“For awakening this awareness of life, I thank the Vietnamese Communists; for

helping me celebrate life this joyous Spring, I thank the American people.

They have done much to assuage the bitterness that I might have felt because

five years of my life were wasted in deadly dull confinement. I only hope

that they show a similar concern for the disabled veterans who all-too-often

were welcomed home with apathy and disinterest. If we as prisoners

sacrificed years, they sacrificed limbs; their rewards should at least equal

ours. It will take private and corporate generosity to pay these men their

due.”

– Col. Stephen R. Leopold (USA, Ret.)

“WE CAME HOME”

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