Leon Eymil's Obituary
In the midst of his valiant fight with cancer, former Palo Alto High School teacher Leon Eymil passed away peacefully in his sleep on September 30, 2013, as a result of complications from treatment for his leukemia.He began teaching at Palo Alto High School in 1970. He taught Russian and led students on field trips to the Soviet Union until Russian was cut from the district’s curriculum. At that time, he started teaching English, Spanish, and History. He reluctantly retired in 2004 to fight cancer, but he remained a substitute teacher for as long as he was able. He had a true passion for teaching, education, and turning everyday experiences into life lessons.Leon was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1942, and he lived in Los Angeles, South Gate and Guadalajara, Mexico before settling with his siblings and mother in the Brentwood area of South San Francisco in 1952.He attended Serra and South San Francisco High Schools where he enjoyed learning languages, especially Latin. After graduating from high school in 1961, he joined the Army Reserves and, ultimately, the Army. Having been recognized for his language skills, the Army sent him to learn Russian at the Defense Language Institute (DLI) in Monterey. After graduating first in his class at the DLI in 1966, he went on to study Russian Language and Literature behind the Iron Curtain in the Soviet Union.After he completed his enlistment with the Army, he attended Stanford University and earned his BA and MA in Russian Language and Russian Literature, respectively.He married Cheryle Tompsett at Stanford Memorial Church in 1968 and they settled down in Los Altos.His grandchildren brought him the utmost joy, but in addition to spending time with them, he enjoyed opera, 49ers and Stanford football, the San Francisco Symphony, learning new languages, traveling the world, and reading. He always looked forward to having conversations and debates with his coffee group in downtown Los Altos, and with his best friend, Rudolph Picarelli.Leon is survived by his wife, Cheryle, and daughters Colleen Eymil of Los Altos and Charleen Cohen of Oakland; his siblings Alicia Rodondi (and Mickey) of San Jose, Denis Eymil (and Karen) of Hanford, California, and Patricia “Pat” Mortenson (and Durand) of Hayfork, California; his brother-in-law Gerald “Jerry” Tompsett (and Nami) of Bremerton, Washington; his twin grandchildren, Taylor and Logan Cohen of Oakland; and many nieces and nephews. Preceding him in death were his parents Alberto “Albert” Eymil and Anna “Ann” (Gatens) Eymil.A celebration of his life is planned in his honor for Sunday, October 20th, at 2:30 PM, at Peninsula Bible Church (PBC), 3505 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto.In lieu of flowers, the family requests that gifts be made in his memory to the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health, 400 Hamilton Avenue, Suite 340, Palo Alto, CA 94301. http://www.supportlpch.org/.
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