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Leonard

Leonard Elias Shaheen

Leonard Elias Shaheen

passed away suddenly on March 6, 2020 at his Chandler, Arizona home at the age of 60.  In his sixty years of life, Leonard was known for many things: being an elite football player and athlete, his love of the outdoors, his work as a National Bank Examiner for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency within the US Treasury Department, being a son and brother, but most of all, he was known as a dedicated and devoted father and husband to his two daughters, Ann and Kate, and his wife, Cynthia.

Leonard was born in Los Angeles, California and grew up in Tahoe City, California, where at the young age of 15 he met Cynthia.  Leonard and Cynthia graduated from North Tahoe High School and each took their own path at different universities with Leonard continuing to play football as an Offensive Tackle for Fresno State University and eventually graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance from the University of Idaho.  The pair married in 1980 in Salinas, California and dedicated themselves to making the most out of every opportunity in the life they shared together.

Throughout his life, Leonard had a love for travel, and seeing new places, which was a passion that he and Cynthia shared and imparted on their two daughters.  Although he enjoyed bustling cities, Leonard’s greatest contentment could be found in nature, and he relished trips to the back country and Alaska.

When Leonard and Cynthia moved to Arizona, he became a regular fixture at the Horizon Honors schools in Ahwatukee, with both daughters attending from elementary school through high school graduation, and where Cynthia currently serves as Principal of the Secondary School and Ann is a teacher.  Leonard impacted the lives of countless young people through his volunteer work with the school’s Athletic Department, Theatre Arts program, and each special event that his daughters or wife enlisted his support.  Leonard was a constant part of his daughters’ lives, teaching Kate and Ann that family was everything and that they were always to protect and care for one another, even when at times grumbling in frustration “abu al banat.”  His support showed when he would attend each athletic and academic event possible while his girls were in their school age years and college and most recently supported each in their marriages, Kate to Matt Macer and Ann to Christopher Huber.

At the heart of who he was, Leonard was a family man, always taking every measure to support his wife and daughters and making his love known to them by his actions.  He was often a man of silence, because Leonard believed strength came through action, and his strong work ethic was a clear example seen by all.  Leonard was an old school, no fluff kind of guy with a tough exterior but a tender heart.

Leonard is preceded in death by his father, Reverend Leonard Nicholas Shaheen, and survived by his wife Cynthia Bozarth Shaheen, his daughters Ann Shaheen Huber and Kate Shaheen Macer, his mother Roxanna Beem Shaheen, and his brother and sister Dana Shaheen and Julianna Shaheen Winninghoff.

Leonard has always been a private person and his passing will be commemorated at a private bonfire service for his wife and daughters.  Only prayers are needed, so follow Leonard’s philosophy and spend a little time outdoors, appreciate what nature has to offer and hold your family close.

We love you Son, Bro, Little Lenny, Leonard, Len, Daddy, Dad, Papa, Babba!
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