R.C. "Chad" McLeod, 94, Cando, ND passed away on Saturday, October 11, 2014 at the Towner County Living Center in Cando, ND. Committal services will be held on Friday, October 17, 2014 at 5:00 p.m. at I.O.O.F. Cemetery in Cando with Rev. Rick Craig officiating. Visitation will be at the Dunnigan-Dix Funeral Home on Friday, October 17, 2014 from 2:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. Military Honors will be provided by the North Dakota Military Funeral Honors Team.

Chad was born on June 13, 1920 in Cando to Douglas and Emma (Reedy) McLeod of 322 3rd Ave. Except for a period of time during WWII, he lived at this location for the majority of his life, although the original house was torn down in 1935 and a new house built on the same location.
Chad was educated in the Cando Public Schools, graduating in 1937. He then went on to the University of North Dakota where he earned a bachelor's degree in business, graduating in 1941. There he was a member of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity. After graduation, Chad moved to Illinois to work for DuPont, where he met Mary Helen Bourdette. Chad had an automobile and posted an ad looking for car poolers to help offset the cost of gas. Mary Helen was one of several women looking for a ride and since she was susceptible to getting car sick, she insisted on sitting in the front seat with Chad. Chad and Mary Helen were married on May 9, 1943.
Shortly after marriage, Chad joined the Army and was selected for a special assignment in the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, also known as the "Ghost Army". This was a decoy unit using special battlefield deception tactics to confuse the enemy that were held secret until 1995. Chad and Mary Helen lived in Texas and New York for a period while Chad was in the service, prior to being sent to Europe for the Normandy invasion.
After the war, Chad and Mary Helen returned to Cando where Chad joined his father in the McLeod Agency Insurance Business and Towner County Abstract Co. For a short period of time in the late 1950s, Chad owned and operated the Chevrolet dealership in Cando, then returned to the insurance agency and abstract business. Following his father's death in 1963, Chad was appointed Secretary-Manager of Farmers Mutual Insurance Company with its home office in Cando. In 1975 Chad purchased the Rolette County Abstract Company with office in Rolla. He continued to work in these businesses, in addition to managing his farming interests until the mid-1990s. In 2010, Chad and Mary Helen move into the Towner County Living Center due to declining health.
Chad was active in the Republican Party, serving as the District Chairman of the state Republican Party. He was also active in the Elks Club, the Shriners, the Masons, the Dakota Rifle and Pistol club as well as an avid hunter and fisherman. Chad was a member of the Cando Methodist Church since 1930. One of Chad's greatest joys was spending time at the cabin on Lake Upsilon that his father had built in the 1930s. He also enjoyed traveling with Mary Helen, and had visited 5 continents.
Chad is survived by his wife, Mary Helen of Cando, two sons, Ronald (Lauren) McLeod of Menlo Park, CA and Charles McLeod of Los Gatos, CA and five grand-children, Ben Hoover of Bend OR, Jessica Hoover of Appleton, WI, Douglas McLeod of San Luis Obispo, CA, Emma and Sarah McLeod of Menlo Park, CA. He was preceded in death by his brother Robert McLeod of Golden Valley, MN and his daughter, Martha (Martie) McLeod-Hoover of Wausau, WI.