Feb. 20, 1932 –

Dec. 29, 2012

Leonard Evans Cato, 80, of Valdosta, Ga., passed away on Dec. 29, 2012, at Langdale Hospice House in Valdosta.

The funeral service will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013, at 2 p.m., at Ivey Funeral Home Chapel, with the Rev. Charlie Fleetwood officiating. Interment will follow at Roselawn Memory Gardens, with full military honors provided by the U. S. Air Force Honor Guard from Tyndall Air Force Base.

The family will receive friends prior to the service, from 1 p.m. to 1:50 p.m. at Ivey Funeral Home Chapel.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013, at 11 a.m., at Perimeter Road Baptist Church in Valdosta, with the Rev. Charlie Fleetwood officiating. The family will receive friends immediately following the service.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Pine Grove Baptist Church, c/o James Campbell, 596 Campbell Road, Colquitt, GA 39837, or to Perimeter Road Baptist Church, 4091 Inner Perimeter Road, Valdosta, GA 31602, or to Hospice of South Georgia (Langdale Hospice House), 2263 Pineview Drive, Valdosta, GA 31602, or to The Mailbox Club, 404 Eager Road,Valdosta, GA 31602.

Evans was born on Feb. 20, 1932, in Brinson, to Jessie Edgar Cato and Mattie Palmer Cato. He was a graduate of Pine Hill High School, Class of 1948. He retired in 1971 as a Chief Master Sergeant (E-9) from the U.S. Air Force and retired from the U.S. Postal Service in 1993. Mr. Cato was a member of Perimeter Road Baptist Church, in Valdosta. He began running at age 50, and won most races in his age group over the past decade. He loved the Lord and his family.
He was preceded in death by his brothers, Curry, Wallace, Earl, Jack, Bryson, and Eddie; and his sisters, Louise Weathersby, Ila Keeder, Alberta Barber, and Adonis Perkins.

Survivors include his wife of 58 years, Mildred Bazzell Cato of Valdosta; his son, Evan Cato and his wife, Melissa, of Tallahassee, Fla.; his daughter, Stephanie Ayers and her husband, Dan, of Valdosta; his granddaughters, Maddie Ayers and Caroline Ayers of Valdosta; his sisters, Mary Ellen Taylor and her husband, Bob, of Gilbert, Ariz., and June Wagner of Augusta, Ga.; and his “adopted” family, Brett, France, Nika, and Mick Martin of Cheyenne, Wyo.

Ivey Funeral Home is in charge of local arrangements.