Leslie 'Les' Abodeely

LESLIE "LES" ALLEN ABODEELY

Cedar Rapids

Leslie "Les" Allen Abodeely, 72, of Las Vegas, Nev., died of natural causes Feb. 2, 2021, in his Las Vegas home. A public visitation will be held from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 19, at the Cedar Memorial Chapel Stateroom with the eulogy readings beginning at 5:45 p.m. and a Trisagion service at 6:20 p.m. A livestream of the eulogy and Trisagion service may be accessed on the funeral home website under the obituary for Les Abodeely, under the video tab starting at 5:45 p.m. Friday, Feb. 19. A closed family service will be held at St. George Orthodox Church, 3650 Cottage Grove Ave., Cedar Rapids, IA, officiated by the Father Fred Shaheen. A Facebook livestream of the funeral service will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 20. To view the Facebook livestream, please go to the St. George Orthodox Church Facebook page. Burial will follow at Cedar Memorial Park Cemetery.

As mandated by proclamation, social distancing must be practiced which requires a limited number of people to be allowed into the visitation at one time. The use of face masks or shields is required.

He is survived by two siblings, Marina Jezzini and husband Brian Schimidt, and Jeffrey Abodeely; two nephews, Andre Jezzini and Ethan Abodeely; one niece, Sophia Abodeely; and first cousins, Dawayne, Nanette, Floraine, Tammy, Renee and George Jr.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Eli and Fidelis Abodeely; and his beloved brother, Phillip.

Leslie was born July 3, 1948, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He was a first-class entrepreneur of over 35 various businesses over his lifetime. His parents Eli and Fidelis encouraged and supported his business ventures. He loved hobbies as a young adult, which carried into his adulthood. He loved trains and slot cars, his parents helped him open a slot car business where kids could come and race. Slot car racing turned into streetcar racing with his Plymouth Roadrunner and Duster, which he regularly "cruised" First Avenue with, where he loved dodging police and racing. He and brother Phillip helped his parents in Old Hickory Steakhouse. Les and Phil opened Baghdad Imports in Mankato, Minn., while Phil went to Mankato State University. His parents first opened Sip-N-Stir and both Les and Phil worked there and eventually ran it themselves after their father passed away in 1975. Les and Phil were best of brothers and business partners. Sip-N-Stir laid the pathways for the most popular discotheque in the state of Iowa, "Gatsby's." As disco was gaining popularity, Les and Phil bought an existing bar on First Avenue and fully renovated it to an amazing experience for people to come dance the night away.

After Les moved to Las Vegas, he needed another business to get into. He found a need and filled it; Inkjets that is. Filling and recycling Ink Jets was his new business. He also loved being a Las Vegas tour guide taking friends and family around the city to see fabulous Las Vegas.

Les accomplished more in his life than most people do. He was a very spiritual man, a motivator to inspire others to do what they never imagined, an author of his e-book "Never Give Up!", a trouble shooter, devoted prankster, a self-made engineer and an active member of Southern Nevada Association of Polio Survivors. He made you feel special and important. He was bold enough to start a conversation with anyone, creating a lifelong memory of him and always a new friend, bringing people together.

Leslie leaves us with his famous words, "Have A Powerful Day!"

Thank you Les for making our lives better.

Donations in lieu of flowers may be directed to SNAPS (So. Nevada Assoc of Polio Survivors), c/o Sylvia Soden, president, 2588 Velodrome Ct., Henderson, NV 89044; or St. George Orthodox Church, www.stgeorgecedarrapids.org.