Leo edward wourms
1924-2015
Leo Edward Wourms passed away at age 90 on Tuesday, April 21, 2015 in Houston, Texas after battling Alzheimers for several years. He was born May 10, 1924 in Dayton, Ohio to Leo Joseph and Mary Frances Wourms. The eldest of five children, he was preceded in death by his parents, and siblings Fred, Francis, Jerry and Mary Margaret, as well as his son Jim. He is survived by his beloved wife of 65 years, Alice Marie, and their children and spouses: Karen and Joel Carpenter, Rick and Janet Wourms, Tom and Susie Wourms, Jim’s wife Kathy Wourms, Elaine and Jay Remley, Marilyn and Chuck Harmon, Chris and Carolyn Wourms, Janis Wourms and Patrice and Bill Hale, as well as numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren. His family was the most important thing to him. He was always present at any function or event involving them. He loved all children, and relating to them was probably his best trait. His signature move was wearing his glasses upside down. The kids always loved it, and it never got old.
Lovable Leo attended Holy Family Catholic Grade School, Chaminade Catholic High School and Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio. At age 16 he went to work for the Federal Government at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton. This began several years of service to his country. In 1943 he joined the Marine Corps and served as a sergeant until 1945. He returned to work at Wright Patterson after the war, where he stayed until taking a position with NASA in 1962. He was there at the beginning of the Apollo Program in Houston, and spent many exciting years as a Logistics Manager for it. He knew many of the legendary space figures of that time. In addition, he taught Dale Carnegie for eleven years. While teaching Carnegie, he met Bud Hadfield, who founded the Kwik-Kopy Printing Franchise company. Leo was excited about the future for Instant Printing and bought one of the first Kwik-Kopy franchises.
Leo retired from NASA in 1972 and made selfemployment his full time career. Over the next ten years he owned several Kwik-Kopy printing shops in Houston. For three of those years he was the acting Kwik-Kopy franchise sales manager for the states of Florida, Georgia and Alabama. By 1981 he had sold his Kwik-Kopy interests and started a wholesale printing company called Houston Wholesale Printing. In 1990 he founded a binding company called Plastikoil Binding, which he subsequently sold in 1996. After retiring from the printing business in 2002 he wrote a book called “Hey Teenager”. It was one of his proudest accomplishments. Published in 2012, it is full of advice for teenagers, who want to lead a happy and fulfilling life.
A Funeral Mass will be held at St. Bernadette Catholic Church, 15500 El Camino Real (77062) at El Dorado Blvd. on Saturday, April 25th at 1:00 pm. A reception will be held immediately afterward. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the American Heart Association, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, or St. Bernadette Catholic Church. The family wishes to thank Heart to Heart Hospice, and Autumn Leaves of Pearland for their dedicated care of Lovable Leo during the last year.
The family would also like to thank Leo’s tennis buddies at Strawberry Park Tennis Center. Playing with them was the highlight of his week for many years.