Samuel Leon, 85, of Kingwood Township, NJ passed away on Thursday July 29, 2010 at Hunterdon Medical Center in Raritan Township, NJ.

Born January 3, 1925 in Glen Ridge, NJ, Sam lived in Kingwood Township for over sixty years.
He served in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper and was a Veteran of WWII, serving in the Pacific theatre.
Sam was the owner of Leons Sod Farm in Kingwood Township, he started the business in 1970. He had served as the Mayor of Kingwood Township and was also on the township committee and planning board. He was on the board of directors of the Prestige Bank in Flemington, NJ at one time. Sam was a devoted and loving husband, father and grandfather and loved spending time with his beloved great grandchildren. He enjoyed playing baseball and bowling at one time and was proud of the fact that he had planted the sod at the Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island. Sam was a member of the American Legion in Flemington and the Flemington Elks. He was also a member and past president of the NJ Turf Grass Assoc. and was inducted into its Hall of Fame.

Son of the late John and Carmella Grutta Leon, Sam is survived by his beloved wife of 62 years, Irene Verity Leon, two granddaughters Jamie Wadle and her husband Rudy of Pittstown, NJ and Chrissy Smith and her husband Chuck of Pittstown, NJ, two sisters Catherine Kosta of Ringoes, NJ and Bonnie Higgins of Grand Junction, CO, and his beloved great grandchildren, Rudy, Logan and Cayden. Sams daughter, Diane Leon, passed away in 2004. He was also predeceased by two sisters Rose Damiani and Vincenza McElligot and four brothers John, Russell, Anthony and Andrew.

Funeral services will be held on Monday August 2, 2010 at 9 AM from the Johnson-Walton Funeral Home, 24 Church Rd., Holland Township, NJ, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 AM at St. Catherine of Siena R.C. Church in Pittstown. Interment will follow in Locust Grove Cemetery, Quakertown, NJ. Visitation will be held on Sunday from 2-4 and 7-9 PM at the funeral home.

Memorial contributions may be made to Rutgers University Foundation, Henry Indyke Graduate Fellowship, 7 College Ave., Winants Hall, New Brunswick, NJ 08901 or the Oak Summit School Historical Society, 190 Oak Summit Rd., Frenchtown, NJ 08825.