Leonard George Epp

Dr. Leonard George Epp, of Alliance, OH died at his home on Wednesday, June 19, 2024, in the company of his family. Leonard was a dedicated son, husband, father, and grandfather. He was an inspiring teacher, a world traveler, avid Penn State Football fan, and bicycling enthusiast.

Leonard was born to Leonard Sr. and Grace J. Epp in Neptune, NJ in August of 1944. His mother—a schoolteacher—instilled in him a lifelong passion for education. After graduating from Hightstown High School, Leonard attended Gettysburg College, where he earned a B.S. in biology. He then attended graduate school at Pennsylvania State University where he earned an M.S. and Ph.D. in biology, graduating in 1969. While attending Penn State he met, Gretchen Epp, his wife of 55 years.

Beginning in 1970, Dr. Epp served as a Professor of Biology at the University of Mount Union for 41 academic years until his retirement in 2011. While at Mount Union he served as both premedical advisor and chair of the Department of Biology for over 20 years. He received the Mount Union Great Teacher Award in 1977 and the McKinley Service Award in 2010. Following his retirement, and thanks to the advocacy of several of his former students, Laboratory Room 307 in Bracy Hall was dedicated in his name. While many of his pre-med advisees still shudder at the memory of his intense morphology course, Dr. Epp is most fondly remembered for his bi-annual marine biology courses and associated field trips to Duke Marine Lab and the Florida Keys.

In addition to being a passionate educator, Dr. Epp was an active researcher. During his career, he developed research collaborations and co-authored papers in cellular biology at universities including The University of Zurich, The University of Kentucky, University of Kansas, Kansas State University, and Penn State University.

Outside of his professional life, Leonard loved to travel and visited least 46 countries in his lifetime. Of his many travels, highlights included visits to the Galapagos Islands, where Charles Darwin formed his theory of evolution, and the Mendel Museum of Masaryk University in the Czech Republic where Gregor Johann Mendel developed the Law of Independent Assortment. He also participated in academic exchanges in India in 1976 and Egypt in 1981, an ecological expedition into the Brazilian Amazon, ecological field trips to Costa Rica with colleague Dr. Charles McClaugherty, and lived and worked in Switzerland over multiple summers and sabbaticals.

Leonard had many varied interests outside of his teaching and research. He was active with the Alliance Kiwanis, Questors, and the Mount Union Alliance Chorale. He and his wife Gretchen were avid bicyclists, regularly completing rides over 40 miles together with the Stark County Folks on Spokes and other groups of bicycle enthusiasts. They loved Penn State Football and were season ticket holders for 52 consecutive seasons.

Leonard is survived by his wife Gretchen, daughter Elizabeth (Liz), son Edward, daughter-in-law Helen, and granddaughter Grace.

Calling hours for Dr. Epp will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Monday, June 24 at Cassaday-Turkle-Christian Funeral Home at 75 S. Union Avenue in Alliance. He will be interred next to his mother and father at Fernwood Cemetery in Jamesburg, NJ following a short service at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, June 26. 

In his memory, and at the request of his family, in lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the University of Mount Union - Student Emergency Fund.