Charles Leininger

Charlie Leininger passed away peacefully on October 12th, 2023, at Hospice of NWO. He was born on September 14th, 1940, to Frank and Jane Leininger and he grew up in the north end of Toledo. He married Arlene (Vass) in 1958 and together, they had two daughters: Kellie and Anita.

In 1960, he moved his young family to Rapid City, South Dakota for work as a building trades steamfitter/welder. Charlie would spend the next 15 years moving across the northern part of the country, turning life into a nomadic adventure for his wife and daughters. He lived and worked in many areas including Green Bay, Wisconsin, Great Falls, Montana, and on Evans Lake in the Irish Hills of Michigan. They eventually returned to the Toledo area, settling first in Lambertville, Michigan. Charlie became a member of the UA Steamfitters Local 50 in Toledo and because he regretted not finishing high school, he enrolled in night classes at Bedford High School (He especially loved the history classes.) and proudly graduated in 1976.

He was a highly skilled welder and taught welding to countless apprentices at what would eventually be known as the Northwest Ohio Piping Industry Training Center. Eventually he moved with Arlene to Woodville, Ohio and for the next few decades, Charlie continued to work and teach welding, He returned to his passion for motorcycling and he and Arlene traveled the United States and Canada by motorcycle. He acquired a BMW motorcycle and began attending rallies across the country with his brothers and fellow biker friends. He met many lifelong friends along the way.

In 2006, Charlie decided to ride to the lower 48 states and collected pledges per state from all of us. It was dubbed “Charlie’s Mission for the Mission” and in that year he accomplished his goal and donated the money he collected to The Cherry Street Mission in Toledo. In 2008, Charlie and Arlene returned to the north end of Toledo, full circle as he liked to say, and moved to Point Place. When Arlene became ill, he was her loving caregiver until she passed away in 2013. He continued his long-distance riding until the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease made riding no longer possible. In his final years, Charlie enjoyed hanging out at home with family and friends, reading, collecting lots of skulls, and watching movies. Never tiring of it, he claimed to have watched The Big Lebowski more than 30 times and even came in second place, dressing as The Dude at a screening of the film at the Ohio Theater. (The prize was a framed picture of Richard Nixon bowling.) During winter months, he traveled to Arizona to spend time in the sun with his sister Jan and brothers Bob and Jim. He moved from his home in Point Place to the Hampton Manor of Bedford in June of 2022 and lived there comfortably until he passed away.

Charlie was preceded in death by his beloved bride, Arlene, his older brother Bob, and his granddaughter Crystal Fiallos. Left behind with broken hearts are his daughters, Kellie (Bill) Patton, Anita (Bob) Rowland, his grandsons: Craig, Dane (Jennifer), and Dylan (Elisha) Rank, and Bob (Dani) Rowland. His great grandchildren: Eleanor, Everett, Leighton, Amy, and Bobby will also be missing him. Cherishing their memories of Charlie are his brother Jim (Pam) Leininger, his devoted sister, Jan Nyitray, sister-inlaw Virginia Leininger, and those Vass kids, Bonnie and Terry.

The family is grateful to the entire staff and fellow residents at the Hampton Manor of Bedford for creating a loving community for Charlie in his final year and to Pete of Elara Caring for keeping him moving. Thank you, also, to Kristi of Elara Caring for all her help in getting him, and us, through the rough parts. As Charlie wished, there will be no services. We suggest, instead, that you watch The Big Lebowski and enjoy a white Russian in his memory. The Dude abides.

Any charitable donations may be made to Hospice of NWO.

The Cremation Society of Toledo is assisting the family with arrangements.