Leoral C. Evans, 93 of 2115 First Avenue S.E., Cedar Rapids, formerly of Mount Vernon, died Saturday, February 05, 2005 in St. Luke's Hospital, Cedar Rapids, from pneumonia. Funeral services for Leoral will be 11:00 a.m., Tuesday at the First Presbyterian Church, Mount Vernon by the Reverend Emory Gillespie. The family will greet friends from 5:00 until 7:00 p.m., Monday at Morgan Funeral and Cremation Choices Mount Vernon Chapel. A masonic service will be 7:00 p.m., Monday in the Chapel. Graveside services 1:30 p.m., Tuesday at Mount Vernon Memorial Cemetery with military rites. Leoral C. Evans was born February 16, 1911 at Clinton, the son of Lee D. and Edna Kohl Evans. He graduated from Lisbon High School in 1930. Leoral and wife of seventy years, Helen Moffit, were married at her parent's home in Mechanicsville, December 2, 1934. They moved to Mount Vernon in 1934 and have resided at Cottage Grove Place since 1996. Leoral was co-owner of the South Side Barber Shop working with Art Kudart for thirteen years until he was drafted in the U.S. Army. He served his country proudly during World War II with the 1143rd Combat Engineers, discharged as a Staff Sergeant. He served in the European Theatre, building pontoon bridges across rivers and channels of Europe, fought in the Battle of the Bulge, and lived in "Buzz Bomb Alley" in Belgium. He was a member of Hahn-Howard American Legion Post #480 of Mount Vernon. Leoral was a member of the First Presbyterian Church for 80 years. He was a founding member and stockholder of Hillcrest Country Club. Leoral was Past Master of Mount Vernon Masonic Lodge #112, where he was a strong supporter of Masonry for 68 years. He was a member of the Mount Vernon Volunteer Fire Department before entering the Army. He was the first president of the Mount Vernon School Foundation. Believing in education he endowed the elementary school libraries in Mount Vernon, Lisbon and Mechanicsville and established the Evans-Moffit Scholarship Fund at Mount Vernon Community Schools. Leoral was chairman of Chapel View Manor at Mount Vernon, member and president of Linn County Conservation Board, instrumental in establishing the Lisbon-Mount Vernon Food Bank, member of Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce and Lions Club of Mount Vernon. After the war he worked for the Lisbon Bank and Trust for eight years, then worked at the Mount Vernon Bank and Trust, retiring after forty-six years in the banking business as Vice-president and member of the board of directors in 1992. Appointed honorary director in 1992 until his death. Leoral graduated from Banking School at University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1961, attended Farm Credit School at Ames and was President of Iowa Bankers Association. Surviving Leoral are his wife at Cottage Grove Place, a daughter, Mary and her husband James of Mount Vernon; a son, William and his wife Lilli of Reno, Nevada and five grandchildren: Joshua, Rachel and Seth Evans, Chuck and Char Moffit. Preceding Leoral in death were his parents. Leoral's hobbies were fishing, hunting, golfing and looking for morels. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to the Mount Vernon Volunteer Fire Department, 213 1st Street West, 52314. On-line memorials to morganfuneralchoices.com