Leonard Belas

Leonard Belas, 70, of Des Moines passed away peacefully at home on January 1, 2021. He was born on July 12, 1950 in New Britain, Connecticut to Steven and Margaret “Czerepusko” Belas. He received his education and graduated from Newington High School where he was captain of the golf team. He made his way to Iowa by attending Simpson College in Indianola and graduated with degrees in English and Theatre Arts. He began working for Dean Witter in 1980 and worked there until retiring in 2008. He met his wife Sally Martens at Dean Witter. They married in 1986 and made their home on the south side of Des Moines. They both enjoyed traveling so in the early years they took many trips to warm places where they could relax and enjoy the sunshine. In his free time, Len enjoyed playing backgammon, playing cards, gardening, yoga, jogging, doing jigsaw puzzles (that he would frame as art for the walls) and in his earlier years he enjoyed bowling and golfing. He was a great cook and enjoyed his cooking bible the “America’s Test Kitchen” cookbook. He was a great gardener and many enjoyed the vegetables that his garden produced. He was also a very “hard-core” Republican and Rush Limbaugh fan. He would listen to Rush every time he was on. He is survived by his wife Sally, brother Richard (Judy) Belas, nephew Brady Martens and nieces Katie (Brandon) Danielson and Ellie Martens. He was preceded in death by his parents, step mother and other aunts and uncles. A visitation will be held on Saturday, January 16, 2021 at 9:00 A.M. at Caldwell Parrish Funeral Home & Crematory at 8201 Hickman Rd. in Urbandale. A memorial service will follow at 10:00 A.M at Caldwell Parrish Funeral Home & Crematory. In lieu of flowers, please send memorials to the attention of the family to be designated at a later time. Also, a separate celebration of life will be held at a later time.