Albert M. Leyner

Albert Martin Leyner was born in Springfield, MA on the 5th of April,1935 and passed away in Livingston MT on the 22nd of June, 2020.While Albert Leyner lived the early years of his life in the eastern part of the US, it was the Rocky Mountains that he called home. He earned a BA from University of Colorado, Boulder and spent the majority of his adult life on the family homestead in Boulder County, Colorado. It was in Boulder that he met the love of his life, his best friend and his future business partner Mary Jane Foley. While his primary job was farming and ranching, he was also a charter pilot (including flying for the Federal Marshal), and worked with Mary Jane to found and run the Colorado Outdoor School. Over the decades they spent together, Al and MJ worked, explored and rescued nearly any creature in need of their help.Al embodied the Leyner stubbornness, but was at the same time a warm, faithful and kind man always willing to help those he cared for. He would be quick to tell anyone willing to listen that he loved (and understood) animals more than fellow humans. Yet he was quick with a good story, a funny anecdote or an idea to solve a pressing problem. During the nearly 20 years he spent in Montana, Al found a wonderfully warm and loving community which quickly became a new family. His niece Beverly is forever grateful for the support they provided Al and MJ, especially as Al dealt with difficult health issues in the last two years of his life. Al is at peace with Mary Jane and all the pets they loved and cared for over the years. Al is survived by his niece Beverly and her husband Tim, as well as his brother Robert Leyner and his wife Carol and their son George. Franzen-Davis Funeral Home and Crematory has been entrusted with arrangements.