Leo H. McGinnis was born in 1942 in Los Angeles to Leo H. McGinnis Sr and Mary Alice (Grant) McGinnis. He passed away peacefully on January 5 at Copley Hospital in Morrisville with his wife Kathy by his side. Cancer got the better of him after a two year valiant struggle. Leo grew up in Tujunga, CA, the fifth of ten children in a lively and tightly knit family. From the beginning, Leo distinguished himself as both studious and curious.

A Boy scout, altar boy, and perennial student body president. Always an over-achiever in the best sense and ever proud of his accomplishments, younger brother Danny remembered when he was a kid Mama would put Leo's report card on the refrigerator, straight A's across it, thinking it might inspire some of us! Mama had hopes that he would become 'Pope Leo' one day. It still makes us laugh.

As a tot, it was his older sister Margie he credits with teaching him to read, starting a lifetime appetite for books and learning. Leo would become a voracious reader and found the library a bracing sanctuary in Summer heat. That early love of reading grew into a lifelong penchant for learning and an eagerness to share what he learned.

A devoted sibling, his little sister Kathleen recalls getting home late from a date, and just as Mama was confronting her about the lateness, Leo came downstairs. Just getting off swing shift at Lockheed, he grabbed her arm and said c'mon, left Mama and went out bowling til 4.

A diligent student and intrepid wayfarer, Leo's determination was tested when he survived a broken neck while attending school in San Diego. He would go on to graduate from St Mary's College in 1966 with a BA in psychology.

After graduating Leo traveled Europe. Our government was looking for civilians to work at a US army depot in West Germany and that income would allow him to stay in Europe a bit longer. Travel suited him. He absorbed places the way he absorbed books, with attention, patience, and appreciation for detail, but still his characteristic curiosity and openness. Meeting lifelong friends along the way, these experiences abroad broadened his horizons and furnished him with the stories of (mis)adventures he would later delight in sharing.

Returning from Europe he lived at the beach near LA. Learning to sail, something he loved to do, and making life long friends. This was where Leo started his first of 30 years at IBM, becoming the lead field engineering IBM rep for Northrup. Excelling as a manager and mentor, Leo loved his work and would bleed IBM blue. He took numerous classes in Chicago and was being groomed for ISSC and which later became IBM Global Services. Leo was moved to Colorado, then to headquarters in New Jersey. It was this job that brought where he would meet his wife Kathy. The final IBM move was to Boulder and they spent the next three decades building a life together out west.

In Colorado, Leo embraced the outdoors with enthusiasm. He was an avid golfer and skier (for lack of sailing) and all-around outdoorsman, always eager to be moving, exploring, or learning something new. Always happy to teach, Leo introduced Kathy to skiing, and would venture across the mountains in Colorado, Utah and New Mexico to go skiing with his step-son John.

Their home in Colorado became a gathering place for friends and family, famously hosting an annual pig roast that reflected Leo's joy in bringing people together.

Leo was a natural storyteller. After retiring he would work as a guide at the Denver History Museum, where his love of history, detail, and narrative found a perfect outlet. Recounting family lore, world travels, or local history, Leo had a gift for making stories feel alive, often punctuated with wry humor and an eye for detail. He was the president of the Rocky Mountain Guide Association, going on to found his own tour business, BewithMe Custom Tours.

In 2016, Leo traded purple mountains for green mountains, moving East to Vermont to be closer to family. In Vermont, he continued to read, reflect, and share stories, remaining connected with family and friends.

Leo is survived by his wife Kathy, stepson John Meyer and wife Kaaren, grandchildren Jack and Kay Meyer, siblings Bernie, Margie, Kathleen, Danny and Rose and many nieces and nephews. Leo H. McGinnis will be remembered as a devoted husband, a loyal brother, a proud son, and a man whose life was marked by diligence, curiosity, and generosity of spirit. Leo chose not to have a funeral. Please raise a glass, tell stories, laugh and cry, enjoy life.