Leo Pavlow

Leo Pavlow passed away peacefully in Sarasota, Florida, at the age of 81 on January 4, 2025. Leo was born on March 8,1943 in Babanka, Ukraine, to his parents Alexander and Alexandra Korobtschenko (later Pavlow). Leo’s passing was preceded by his son, Lance Pavlow (Jennifer). Leo is survived by his life partner, Christiane Meyer, his daughter, Lauren (Aaron) Weegar, and his four grandchildren, Jessica, Kate and Morgan Weegar and Alexis Pavlow. Leo is also survived by his loving mother, Alexandra Pavlow (currently 100 years young), his brother, Victor (Yvonne) Pavlow, his sister, Ludmila (George) Kitsos, along with five nieces and nephews (Gregory Kitsos, Nicole Golden, Victoria Gillum, Christopher Pavlow and Jason Pavlow) and their families. Leo was larger than life. At the age of 1, Leo’s parents fled from the Ukraine to Germany and later to Belgium where they waited to obtain their Visa to immigrate to the USA. Leo arrived in Connecticut on a Constellation airplane in 1953. From a very young age, and being a WWII child, Leo was a leader and took his life into his own hands. Throughout his youth, but also later in life, he stood up and protected his family and friends - bullies had no chance with Leo and he had no time for injustice or prejudice. Extremely intelligent, athletic, competitive and hard-working, Leo graduated from James Hillhouse High School in New Haven, CT, and was the Valedictorian of his class. As the All-State Quarterback of his high school football team, Leo led his team to win the state championship. After graduating H.S., Leo attended Boston University on a full football scholarship. Leo was also offered the opportunity to try-out for the Dallas Cowboys but decided instead to join the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado and completed his master’s degree in electrical engineering. At the young age of 26, Leo was assigned to support the NASA Apollo 8 through 13 programs. Leo was Assistant Flight Director, working directly for Gene Kranz for the Apollo 13 mission. After the Apollo missions were discontinued, Leo moved back to Air Force service where he supported the F-16 fighter launch. Leo was an excellent project manager and wonderful with people – a born leader. His Daughter, Lauren, was born in Pasadena, TX and son, Lance, was born in Hamilton, OH. Later the family moved to Sterrebeek, Belgium, followed by an assignment in Albuquerque, NM, where he raised Lauren and Lance on his own. Upon retiring from the Air Force as a Major, Leo moved to Seattle, WA, to take on a management position in the private sector, leading 400 engineers on defense projects. He proceeded to work for his friend at F.X. Coughlin in automotive logistics and moved to Birmingham, England, in 1997 where he led the launch of a Jaguar S-type at Castle Bromwich. His colleagues called him a Maverick. Leo retired as a logistics Program Director in 2009. On October 6, 1990, he met his life partner Christiane on an airplane from Seattle and Phoenix. The two started dating when Leo moved to Setubal, Portugal in 1991 to start up an automotive plant for Ford Motor Company. When Christiane met Leo, she thought he was James Bond - charming, handsome, capable, multi-lingual (Leo spoke many languages, including French, Russian and Portuguese), adventure-loving and mysterious. She still thought the same about him after 34 years of being together. The couple moved to Plymouth, MI in 2000 where they were blessed with the friendliest and most supportive neighbors on the planet, as well as many dear friends. From 2021 on, they shared their time between Michigan and Sarasota, FL. Leo enjoyed travelling (no place too far, no location too exotic), golf, yoga, entertaining and Argentine Tango Dancing, as well as his friends and most of all, his grandchildren and family. Leo was very good with children, and his Volcano breakfasts and horror storytelling at night are legendary. Leo made friends easily, his smile reached from ear to ear and was contagious, his charisma was always present, and he represented strength, kindness and wisdom. He will be forever missed. A Celebration of Life will be held at the Toale Brothers Colonial Chapel located at 40 North Orange Avenue, Sarasota, Florida 34236 on January 18, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. A luncheon will follow. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made online in memory of Leo Pavlow to the following charities: • St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital https://www.stjude.org/donate/donate-to-st-jude.html?sc_icid=header-btn-donate-now • The Wounded Warrior Project https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org/Default.aspx?tsid=11585&ovr_acv_id=16821&campaignSource=ONLINE&source=BS25001AAABREAA&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAhP67BhAVEiwA2E_9g8lqQIfkxmvuZPwWMEn4SkXiexbwhqxc5YCv-nIBL15SOb-kNJJDfxoCLLkQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

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Leo Pavlow

March 8, 1943 - January 4, 2025