Leon William Van Alstine Jr.

November 21, 1957 – August 28, 2026

Leon William Van Alstine Jr., beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, veteran, teacher, tinkerer, and affectionately known to his family as Papa Mustache, passed away on August 28, 2026, after a years-long battle with primary CNS lymphoma brain cancer.

Leon was born on November 21, 1957, in Elmira, New York, to Elizabeth Marie Van Alstine (Sours) and Leon William Van Alstine. He grew up in Horse Heads New York, with his sisters Nancy and Patricia. It was during those early years that Leon developed a lifelong love for fishing, camping, motorcycles, mechanics, and just about anything that gave him an excuse to be outdoors or work with his hands.

Leon proudly served his country in the United States Air Force and was stationed at Indian Springs Nevada. More importantly, that chapter of his life brought him to Yonna.

Leon and Yonna shared 46 years together, 43 of them as husband and wife after marrying on April 9, 1983. Together they built a life and raised their four daughters: Tara, Kayla, Kim, and Nicole.

Leon never had boys, but that certainly didn't stop him from passing along everything he knew. Instead, he taught his girls how to turn wrenches with the best of them. He shared with them his love of Volkswagens, motorcycles, quads, sand rails, engines, electricity, tools, troubleshooting, and the satisfaction that comes from figuring something out yourself.

Leon possessed an extraordinary mind. He seemed to understand the language of machines and electrical as though he'd helped write it. If something could be built, repaired, modified, wired, fabricated, or simply made better, Leon could usually figure out how to do it. More importantly, he was willing to teach what he knew, leaving behind generations of family and friends who carry pieces of that knowledge with them today.

Throughout his life, Leon was known for his strength, loyalty, generosity, humor, stubbornness, and unmistakable personality. In his younger years, he built motorcycles from scrap, rode with a motorcycle club, and even owned the kind of red van, with a bubble window and with a dragster painted on the side, that deserves a story all its own. His ability to remain steady when things went sideways earned him the nickname “Rock.”

But to the people who mattered most, he would become something even better:

Papa Mustache.

Leon enjoyed the good things in life, a Harley, dirtbike, sand rail, quad or VW projects, time at the dunes, lake, a good cigar, a drink, and time spent with family and friends. But perhaps his favorite place wasn't really a place at all. Give Leon a good fire pit, a cigar and drink in hand, and the people he loved gathered around him, and he was exactly where he wanted to be.

That was Leon. When he had something good, he wanted to share it. He bought nice things not for him just have, but because they were better when the people he cared about could enjoy them too.

As the years passed, his fingerprints remain everywhere, not only on the machines he built and kept going, but on the daughters he raised, the son in laws he cherished and the 11 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild he adored. The people he taught, the family he provided for, and the countless stories that will continue to be told about him.

Leon fought cancer for years with the same stubborn determination that he approached just about everything else in life. Though that fight has ended, what he built remains.

He will be deeply missed by Yonna; their daughters, Tara, Kayla, Kim, and Nicole; and the extensive legacy of family and friends. All those fortunate enough to have learned, laughed, worked, fished, built something, sat around a fire, or shared a cigar with him, will keep his memory alive forever.

Papa Mustache is at peace.

We are all here to make sure his stories aren't going anywhere.