Leppink, Dr. Harold "Hal" of Knife River, Minnesota, passed away peacefully Tuesday, November 3, 2020. Hal was born February 9, 1926, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to Sadie (Elhart) Leppink and Bernard Leppink. He graduated from Grand Rapids Central High School in 1943. He enlisted in the Navy and qualified for a program to train medical doctors. After completing his pre-med requirements at Denison University in Granville, Ohio, he went on to Wayne University School of Medicine in Detroit for his medical training. He was discharged from the Navy after the war ended and graduated as a civilian in 1949, with honors and election to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. Hal and his wife, Maryellen (Halstead) Leppink, left the Detroit area in 1952 to volunteer at a hospital in Castaner, Puerto Rico, associated with the Church of the Brethren, which shared their commitment to peace and justice and was starting a local health care cooperative to make health care affordable for everyone in the community. In 1957 they moved to Two Harbors, where they raised their four children with much love and purpose, and Hal practiced medicine at the Community Health Center, a health care cooperative owned and operated by the Two Harbors community. In 1969 he became a charter member of the American Board of Family Medicine. In his medical practice Hal saw that many health problems faced by his patients could have been prevented through public health services, health education and public policy. That led to a second career in public health, beginning with a Masters of Public Health degree at the University of Minnesota in 1971, followed by leadership and advisory roles with Northeast Minnesota public health organizations, including 21 years as Executive Officer for the Saint Louis County Health Department and 45 years as Health Officer for Lake County. In the Minnesota public health community Hal is remembered for supporting effective public health services, such as family home visits by public health nurses specializing in infant and child health, and innovative health education programs, including one of the first health risk assessment surveys to help people identify changes they can make in their lives to improve their health. Working with local legislators and groups such as the Minnesota Public Health Association and the American Lung Association of Minnesota, Hal was an early advocate for the Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act, which protects employees and the public from the hazards of second hand smoke. After Hal retired in 1993, he and his wife, Cynthia (Klassen) Leppink, spent summers at their home in Knife River and winters in Boca Raton, Florida. They entertained family and friends and Hal enjoyed the camaraderie of his Duluth area men's group. He continued in advisory roles with the Lake County Health Department and volunteered with Children's HeartLink, leading a project to promote rheumatic fever awareness and prevention in Costa Rica, Kenya and Ethiopia. Hal was preceded in death by his parents and his wife. He is survived by his brother, Richard (Patricia) Leppink, Holland, Michigan, his four children, Ellen (Cliff) Reykdal of Eagan, Jeff Leppink (Jane Freeman) of Bloomington, Nancy Leppink (Matt Shands) of Eagan, and Bruce (Julie) Leppink of Falcon Heights, 10 grandchildren and six great grandchildren, and by Cynthia's daughter, Angilea (Robert) McNae, of Orono, and her two children. A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, October 23, 2021, at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Duluth, 835 West College Street, Duluth. Memorials to honor Hal's work in public health may be made to the Minnesota Public Health Association by mail: MPHA, PO Box 14415, Minneapolis, MN 55414 or online: mpha.net/…. The family also suggests donations in his memory to Doctors Without Borders, PO Box 5030, Hagerstown, MD 21741-5030.

Published on January 10, 2021