Fredric Michael Leopold

Fredric Leopold was born on November 15, 1938 in New York City, the eldest son of Pauline and Louis Leopold. Having grown up on Long Island, NY, he was lucky enough to have moved to Bozeman, Montana in 2010 and enjoy 12 years filled with hiking the limitless mountain trails and skiing the unbelievably light (“cold smoke”) powder at Bridger Bowl. But the real attractions of Montana life are the welcoming people that populate its towns and cities.

Fred and his wife of 57 years, Jane, have three children-Seth, Marni and Lorna-and two granddaughters, Dagny and Amelia. Fred was an active and involved member of Congregation Beth Shalom in Bozeman, having served a total of nine years on its Board of Directors.

Earlier on in their marriage, Jane and Fred discovered their love of travel, often combining it with their ardor for hiking. Together, they’ve hiked several times in Peru’s Andes Mountains as well as together summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa and trekking to Mt. Everest Base Camp in Tibet. People met in those locales often became lifelong friends and it was that, and the close relationships formed during the Bozeman years, that were the important foundations of their lives over the past several years.

Much of Fred’s life, before and during the Bozeman years, was devoted to volunteerism. In New York, he held over a 19-year span just about every position, including president and chairperson of the board on the Board of Directors of the Peninsula Counseling Center, a large mental health clinic treating more than 5000 people each year. Additionally, he served on the Board of Directors of the Five Towns Community Council, a “think tank” focused on bringing solutions to community problems on the south shore of Long Island. Fred’s career in the investment industry spanned more than 50 years during which time many of his clients became friends of his.

But, if one were to ask Fred where the most of his pride lays, it would be in his wife (who bought into all of his ideas for trips and beat him to the top of Kilimanjaro) and his children, his talented daughter-in-law, Jill, and granddaughters who are all caring, thoughtful and intelligent individuals…a lot to be proud of.

For Jane and the children and Jill, Fred’s life was filled with love.

Besides his wife and children, Fred leaves behind his brother Stuart, nephew Josh and many cousins.