Brenda Leonard Lukasko

March 21, 1953 - June 14, 2021

Brenda Leonard Lukasko, 68, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, died Monday, June 14, 2021, at Dennis & Donna Oldorf Hospice House of Mercy, Hiawatha, Iowa. Visitation: 9 – 11 a.m. Monday, June 21, 2021, at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, Cedar Rapids with service to follow at 11 a.m. Non-vaccinated guests are requested to wear masks. The service will be livestreamed on the Facebook page for St. Mark’s United Methodist Church at https://www.facebook.com/stmarkscedarrapids Inurnment will take place at a later date at Woodlawn Cemetery, Toledo, Iowa. Brenda was born March 21, 1953, in Long Beach, California, the daughter of Lang “LJ” Leonard and Elizabeth (Barnett) Bates. She graduated from South Tama County High School and earned her Master’s degree in social work from the University of Iowa. Brenda worked as a Licensed Independent Social Worker. From 1979 to 1991, she worked for the Iowa Department of Human Services. In the early 90’s Brenda was MSW, LISW for Geriatric Mental Health at St. Luke’s. Following St. Luke’s, she was an LISW at Four Oaks in family therapy. Brenda then was a part of the largest managed behavior health care companies, Magellan Health Services of Iowa, now Amerigroup. She served on the emergency response team that travelled to Camp Pendleton Oceanside, and other locations. Brenda enjoyed participating in several book clubs including the Ernest & Julio Hemingway Book Club, Red Bucket Book Club, and St. Mark’s Book Club. She was a devout member of St. Mark’s United Methodist Church. Her family and friends will especially miss her razor sharp wit and adventurous spirit. Brenda’s family would like to extend a special thank you to Dr. Michael J. Goodheart and Anna Conroy, PA-C from Gynecologic Oncology at the Holden Comprehensive Center. Survivors include her sons, Shawn (Naomi) Leonard of Cedar Rapids and Brice Lukasko of Dallas, Texas; grandchildren; Braxton Leonard of Chicago and Anthony Leonard of Cedar Rapids; sisters, Nancy (Mike) Purk of Toledo and Sharon Leonard of Cedar Rapids; as well as many nieces, nephews and extended family members. She was preceded in death by her parents, LJ Leonard and Elizabeth Bates; step-father, Jack Bates; step-mother, Eris Leonard; and brother, Terry Leonard. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Leaders Believers Achievers.