Rodney "Rod" Leinen

Rodney J. “Rod” Leinen, age 82, of Browerville, passed away peacefully after an unexpected illness, surrounded by his family on Monday, December  20, 2021 at the Lakewood Hospital in Staples, Minnesota.

A Requiem Mass will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, December 30 at the Patton-Schad Funeral Home in Sauk Centre with Rev. Fr. David Hewko officiating. Burial will follow at Camp Ripley Cemetery in Little Falls.

Visitation will be from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the funeral home with a rosary being said at 10:30 a.m.

Rodney John Leinen was born September 25, 1939, in Breckenridge, Minnesota to Walter and Fern (Pasch) Leinen. He enlisted in the National Guard and then served in the United States Navy from 1957 to 1960. On September 1, 1961, he married Joanne Lusty in Fergus Falls. Rod worked for the law library in Washington D.C. at the Civil Service Commission as a law clerk transcribing congressional documents. Rod and Joanne moved to Minnesota and Rod began working for the Air Force in Minneapolis. He held various jobs after the Air Force that took him to different locations including Kensington, Minnesota where he sold and delivered Ambassador Meats. He also became general manager of feed/grain elevators in Cyrus, Glenwood, Starbuck. Rod was also instrumental in the building of Independent Farmers Ag Service in Hancock which continues to be a successful operation. His last job was working at Walmart in Sauk Centre as a supervisor of the automotive department, retiring in 2015.

Rod’s Traditional Catholic faith was the most important thing in his life. So much so, he was enrolled as a Benedictine Oblate, following the Rule of St. Benedict in 2019. He went by the name of Brother Benedict of the Holy Cross, OSB following the motto of “pray and work”.

Survivors include his wife, Joanne Leinen of Browerville; children, John (Kristine) Leinen of Long Prairie, Suzanne (Dan) Bertrand of Evansville, and Jill McGeehan of Wayzata; grandchildren, Rochelle (Nelson) Hough, Kelly (Frank) Roman, Anna (Jacob) Whalen, Luke, Paul, Thomas, John, and Maureen Leinen, and Jack and Sullivan McGeehan; sister, Lois Thykeson; and brothers, Donald Leinen and Randy (Linda) Leinen.

Rod was preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Vance, Lyle, Dennis, and David Leinen; and sisters, Marilyn Neubauer and Beverly Capshaw.

Serving as casket bearers will be Jack McGeehan, Sullivan McGeehan, John Leinen, Paul Leinen, Thomas Leinen, and Jacob Whalen. Mass Altar Servers will be Luke Leinen and Johnny Leinen.