Leon Ray Bertschy entered his eternal home on February 7, 2022, at the age of 82 years.  Leon was a long time resident of Gravette, Arkansas.  Leon was born October 4, 1939 in Bentonville, Arkansas to Louis and Narcissus Looney Bertschy, who preceded him in death.  He was a 1957 graduate of Bentonville High School.

Leon was a lifelong farmer and enjoyed working in his garden.  He was an inventor, an engineer, and could fix almost anything with bailing twine.  Shortly after high school, he went to work for the USDA Office as a surveyor.  After leaving the USDA, he went to work for Kraft Foods based in Bentonville.  In 1962, he became a fulltime farmer until selling his dairy cattle in 1986. He then began working at Fuji Film until his retirement when he returned to his family beef operation and continued to farm alongside Peggy until 2015.

Leon always enjoyed serving his church and community.  He served as a deacon at the Bentonville Church of Christ, was a member of the Green Valley Bible Camp Board, and was currently a member of the Bella Vista Church of Christ. He served on the Gravette School Board for ten years.  Leon was also instrumental in the voluntary annexation of the community of Hiwasse into the city of Gravette.

He was preceded in death by two brothers, Ivan and Calvin and five sisters:  Vivian Allen, Margie Lamb, Verna Dodd, Evelyn Garnett, and Leola King.

Leon is survived by his wife of more than sixty years Peggy Sandlin Bertschy of Gravette; sons Leon (Gretchen) Bertschy II of Niles, Michigan and Craig (Patti) Bertschy of Hiwasse; daughters Cheryl (Greg) Woodruff of Bentonville and Shannon (Norman) Mitchell of Gravette.  He is survived by his brothers Richard Bertschy of San Antonio, Texas and Doug Bertschy of Gravette; and his twin-sister Lavonne Kay Bowers of Carthage, Missouri.  In addition, he leaves behind a legacy of eleven grandchildren: Anthony (Kimberly), Anna (Aarão), Alex, Austin, Ashleigh (Adam), Dylan, Madison, Derek, Catie, Abby and Erin and three great-grandchildren, Ean, Aspen, and Alex.

A visitation will be held Thursday, February 10 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm at the Bella Vista Funeral Home.  A graveside service will be held at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, on Friday, February 11 at 11:00 am.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Bella Vista Church of Christ.

Arrangements are under the direction of Bella Vista Funeral Home & Crematory.  On-line condolences may be made at www.funeralmation.com.