Burton Charles Leenknecht, was born on April 2, 1929 at Providence Hospital, in Seattle, to Charles and Cecile Leenknecht. He was the oldest of three children. Burt attended Boulevard Park elementary school where he met the love of his life, Merald LeMoine. In the 4th grade he told Merald that he loved her and gave her a Valentine’s Day card. Years later, on October 25, 1947, they were married at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Seattle, and soon started their family. In 1953, the Leenknecht family of four moved into the small house on 11th Ave NE. When the family was getting bigger, they started searching for a bigger house, which they found. BUT, then Merald started crying because she didn’t want to leave the house on 11th Ave NE, away from all the fabulous friends that they had made. The neighborhood became the “11th Ave gang”, with every house having kids, there was a count of 38 kids at one time. We didn’t move and dad started adding to the little house. Every few years he would add a little more, Larry began calling it the Winchester house. This was our home. Burt started working at a young age, which included being the chauffeur for one of the sons of the Foss Tub Boat Company, he did a season on an Alaska fishing boat, he worked for Boeing, he did landscaping, building rockeries, sprinkler systems, digging foundations, and on and on. Truly a man of all trades. The major part of his career, was in road construction, working for Bass Construction and other companies as a mechanic and operator of heavy equipment, and building roads. He was one of the first people to work on I-5 and I-405 because he had to make roads so that the soil sample workers could get started. He told a story of when they used a crane to lift a tractor over the house of Mr. Bartell to dig a hole for Mr. Bartell’s swimming pool. He says that was the only time that he did not unload his own tractor. He very much treasured his family, friends and the many camping trips. Camping with family was at the top of his list. Still driving his 5th-wheel in September 2019 to Lake Chelan for the annual family camping trip. He kept his mind and hands busy at all times. He loved playing cribbage which kept his mind sharp. If you think he had a disadvantage because of his 90 years young, think again! Motorcycles were also a passion with him. At one time, he had 12 motorcycles in the basement. He must have thought that “The Family That Rides Together, Stays Together”. Burt looked forward to family time. He had said many times that he was so proud of his kids for being close. He was a Wonderful father, father-in-law, grandfather and great-grandfather. Burt passed away on October 22, 2019 in Swedish Hospital Cherry Hill at the age of 90. He is survived by his brother Frank, sister Florence, four children: Larry (s. DD), Paul (s. Cindy), Donna (s. Jim) and Shirley, along with 9 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Merald (2015) and their 1st born son, Charles (1998). There will be a mass at St. Mark Catholic Church in Shoreline on November 6 at 11:00 a.m., with a reception at the church to follow. Please share memories at www.beckstributecenter.com.