MN DAV Chapter 39 Chaplain Dan Lynch shared today that Leo Luskey’s obituary appeared in the Star Tribune, yesterday, Oct, 1, 2023. Leo was born Nov. 12, 1942 in LeSueur, MN and passed away Aug. 26, 2023 in Roseville, MN. A Celebration of Life will be held Thursday, Nov. 9 at 11 a.m. at Saint Paul’s Catholic Church, 1740 Bunker Lake Blvd, Ham Lake, MN. Lunch will be served at the church after the service. Leo is survived by his wife, Madeleine, sister, Geraldine, brother, Fenton, four daughters, and seven grandchildren. Private interment is at Fort Snelling.
Luskey grew up on a farm in the township of Tyrone, Minnesota. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and served in Vietnam. Following his military service, he became the owner of a bar and in 1983, founded and managed Tyrone Transportation, Inc., and retired in 2021. The Vietnam Veteran was a founding active member of Spring Lake Park School District’s Panther Foundation. He also served on the Metro North Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and was named its 1998 Business of the Year.
Six years ago, Luskey, a lifetime DAV member, conceived and chaired the first MN DAV Chapter 39’s Golf Tournament. The event would become one of Chapter’s largest fundraising events, supporting veterans in Anoka and surrounding counties. The Chapter honored the Marine Corps veteran, by renaming the event after him, The Leo Luskey DAV Golf Tournament.
Luskey’s volunteer work in support of MN DAV Chapter 39’s mission was recognized on Independence Day 2021, as he was featured in the Chapter’s ”Member Monday” social media campaign. The idea of the campaign came from a comment Leo Luskey made to Ken Plant, (MN DAV Chapter 39’s webmaster). “While we certainly help a lot of Vets,” Leo shared with Plant while displaying and wiggling his ten fingers, “Like many other organizations, you can count the number of active members who end up doing most of the work on two hands”.
Luskey’s selfless service to veterans and his community was recognized in a feature story on WCCO-TV. Officer Reggie Larson, Blaine Police Department, was interviewed with Leo Luskey, who donated the funds to purchase and train Blaine’s new K9, Tyrone. Watch the story at
At the 7th Annual Leo Luskey Golf Tournament held on July 13, 2023, at the Refuge Golf Course, sponsors and participants were welcomed to the event with a pictorial display exhibiting highlights of the previous six tournaments and outlined the years of support achieved to help local Veterans and their families.
“Leo Luskey will indeed be missed. What resonates with me is his last interview, in which he shared, ‘As you grow older, you will discover you have two hands. One for helping yourself, and the other for helping others,” shares Plant.
