OBITUARY: Leo Arthur Dasso, 87, of Kingsland dies June 14, 2014
Beloved husband and father Leo Arthur Dasso, 87, of Kingsland, Texas, formerly of Rock Island and Milan, Ill., died June 14, 2014, at Kingsland Hills Care Center.
A private burial will be held at Llano City Cemetery under the direction of Waldrope-Hatfield-Hawthorne Funeral Home, 900 Industrial Blvd. in Kingsland, (325) 388-6767.
Leo was the eighth child of Henry J. and Frances (Schweickert) Dasso, arriving in Rock Island on June 28, 1926. He graduated from Rock Island High School in 1944, earning six letters in football and wrestling. In his senior year, Leo placed second in the Illinois Invitational State Wrestling Tournament, losing the championship by a flip of a coin after a double-overtime.
D-Day of World War II coincided almost exactly with Leo’s graduation from high school. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps on Dec. 20, 1944, in Fort Sheridan, Ill. After basic and technical training, he was stationed at Howard Air Force Base, Balboa, Panama Canal Zone. He earned the World War II Medal, the Good Conduct Medal and the Panama Canal Zone Ribbon while in the military.
After the war, he attended the University of Illinois on a football scholarship but dropped out because of a knee injury. He later coached the Quad-City Mohawks, a semi-professional football franchise.
Leo married Patricia Joann Conwell of Rock Island on Nov. 11, 1950, in a private ceremony in Peru LaSalle, Ill. They started married life in Rock Island and together raised eight children.
Leo started his business career as founder and owner of the Leo A. Dasso Co., specializing in concrete construction. Many of his early contracts were with the city of Rock Island for the construction and/or repair of public sidewalks. He later sold the cement business and started a second company, the Leo A. Dasso Construction Co., Inc. He built and remodeled hundreds of quality houses as well as public facilities. He also supervised construction of the west wing addition on Moline Public Hospital and the Frank Erwin Center in Austin. His business successes allowed him to help his orthopedic surgeon brother, Dr. Raymond Dasso, establish a medical practice in Dubuque, Iowa, which later moved to Rock Island.
Leo enjoyed family life, sports, playing cards, fishing, vegetable gardening and traveling, especially trips throughout the West. His gardens were always well-tended and beautiful, and his produce was grown for “good eating.”
Those left to honor Leo’s memory are his wife of 64 years, Patricia; children, Timothy Dasso of Spicewood, Marilyn (Paul) Kuehlem of Kingsland, Ruth (Michael) Marlaire of Boulder Creek, Calif., Edwin (Luann) Dasso of Excelsior, Minn., Ellen (Chet) Pierce of Fayetteville, Ark., Mary Dasso of Kingsland, Andrew Dasso of Kingsland and Stephen (Alicia) Dasso of Pescadero, Calif.; 11 grandchildren, Austin and Marshall Dasso, Nick and Max Kuehlem, Justin Marlaire, Cameron and Brittany Dasso, Stephanie and Jamie Pierce and Jacob Papini and Addyson Dasso; two brothers, Raymond and Jerome Dasso; and two sisters, Beatrice (Bob) Schwab and Lucille (John) Mather.
The family requests, in lieu of flowers, a donation be made in Leo’s name to the American Diabetes Association.
Email whhfuneral1@verizon.net to offer condolences to the family.