Lenard Charles Mize

Lenard Charles Mize, 83, of Kaufman, Texas, passed away at 6:45 p.m. on October 20, 2026, at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas. Lenard was born on June 20, 1943, to Florene and Lonnie Mize in McAlester, Oklahoma, where he spent most of his early childhood. It wasn't until he was in middle school when he and his family moved to California and graduated from Tulare Union High School in 1963.

Lenard's work life started at a young age at his family's broom factory in McAlester, Oklahoma, which later also moved to California with them. He spent his teenage and young adult years doing a wide range of difficult and wild jobs that shaped his unique personality and character that would be so known and dear to his family and loved ones later in his life. As he got older, Lenard took on more serious and professional careers such as a facilities technician for Member's Mutual Insurance Company and completed his last job at the City of Kaufman Water Department. Throughout this time as an adult, he also raised livestock on his properties around the Kaufman area where he was able to do what he loved most: hunting, fishing, camping, horseback riding, and overall being outdoors. His early life in McAlester influenced his affinity for nature and animals that would eventually allow him to develop his skills in artisanal wood working and competitive bull and bronco riding (in his younger years of course).

On July 28, 1978, Lenard Mize and Carolyn Ansel got married in Dallas, Texas, where Carolyn became a permanent and cherished member of the Mize family. They spent a total of 48 years together where they formed countless memories with each other and their three daughters. They learned to raise their daughters together and became the most influential, understanding, and caring parents that anyone could have asked for. Lenard made it a priority to teach his girls many important things in life, and one of those things were to pass down his love for cooking to his children so future generations can enjoy good food just as much as he did.

Alongside Lenard were his siblings Lonnie Mize, Jimmy Mize, Hazel Sumner, and Beverly Schubert, who are now all reunited in heaven together. He is survived by his wife, Carolyn; daughters Karen Pickens, Fonda Fulfaro, and Andrea Mize; grandchildren Karl Pickens, Stevie Chartrand, Tristan Fulfaro, and Aspen Fulfaro; and great grandchildren Eliana Pickens, Vivian Pickens, Oliver Chartrand, and Theodore Chartrand. There are countless numbers of extended family members and friends who will all miss him dearly and hold Lenard in their hearts for years to come.