Leslie K. Southard, 93 , of Clarion, passed away Sunday, December 29, 2024 at the Iowa Specialty Hospital in Clarion. Funeral services for Leslie and Shirley Southard will be held at 10:00 AM on Tuesday, January 21, 2025 at Ewing Funeral Home, 1801 Central Avenue East in Clarion. Burial will take place in Evergreen Cemetery in Clarion. Visitation will be held one hour prior services on Tuesday. Leslie was born in Clarion on November 7, 1931 to the parents of Dorsey Gilbert Southard and Gladys Mechem Southard. Having been raised on a farm east of Clarion, Leslie attended Clarion Senior High before being drafted into the Korean War. It was after serving his term that he married his High School sweetheart, Shirley Mae Hackbarth of Rowan on November 14, 1954. Soon after they began their lives together, they took up the profession of farming. Over the years, they had three children together: Cindy, Teresa, and Jeremiah. Leslie and Shirley were active in the Clarion Church of Christ and also spent many years as active Square Dancers as well as camping fanatics. Leslie was an avid craftsman, building furnishings for friends and neighbors – including a fold-down camper for his young family (and Shirley did all of the sewing). In 1997, Leslie and Shirley retired in Clarion where they began their profession of being Grand and Great Grandparents. Leslie is survived by his three children, his older brother Edward Homer Southard of Clarion, and older sister Margie Southard Logan of South Carolina. He is preceded in death by his wife Shirley, his parents, as well as siblings Doris Anne Southard Holmes and Raynard Harrison Southard.