Leonard Lee Crale Jr., a native North Portland resident and community advocate, passed away on May 21, 2025. He was 75 years old.

Leonard was born on September 24, 1949 in Portland, Oregon. He was the second oldest of four children born to Leonard "Bud" Sr. and Annie (Kinn) Crale. He grew up in St. Johns and graduated in 1967 from Roosevelt High School.

Leonard served in the U.S. Navy for four years.

He was a devoted son, brother, uncle, and St. Johns resident. Leonard was known for being engaged in the community. He loved a good debate with friends, family, and sometimes complete strangers. It was rare for him not to know what was going on in his community. Despite not being connected to the internet or having a cell phone, Leonard kept up on the news in St. Johns and the surrounding Portland metro area. He prided himself on knowing and educating others on local issues. In fact, when Leonard was about 10 years old, he visited a forest with a neighbor and was inspired to start planting trees in the community. If you look around at the trees in St. Johns, you might be looking at a tree he planted.

Leonard is best known for the "Christmas house," where he and his siblings grew up on North Geneva Avenue. More than 60 years ago Leonard and his parents started the tradition of decking out the whole house and yard in Christmas lights. It would take months, but Leonard and his siblings would spend countless hours stringing up thousand of lights and filling the yard with a cast of mystical Christmas characters just to bring joy to holiday visitors. Leonard had a gift for putting together Christmas window displays in every front-facing window of the house, and he would always be on the lookout all year around for something special to add to his holiday light display. Hundreds of people would visit the house on North Geneva to see the festive display year after year. He was inspired to keep the tradition alive through the happiness and joy he saw in those who came to experience the Christmas light display. Leonard probably never knew it, but there was even a marker on Google Maps showing the house as a tourist attraction.

In his professional life, Leonard worked for Northwest Packing Cannery for 47 years. He was a loyal and dedicated employee, where he was often fixing equipment and helping to keep the operations moving smoothly.

Leonard is preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Sharon Gallagher. He is survived by his sisters Jeanne Simms and Marlene Crale; nephew Bill Gallagher; grandnephew Christopher Gallagher; grandniece Kaitlen Gallagher; great nephew Mason Gallagher; and numerous cousins.

A visitation rosary will be at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 3 at Hustad Funeral Home (7232 N. Richmond Ave., Portland, OR). Mass of Christian Burial will be at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, June 4 at Holy Cross Parish (5227 N. Bowdoin St., Portland, OR). Entombment will be at Portland Memorial Mausoleum (S.E. 14th & Bybee) and will follow the mass at approximately 6 p.m.