Leon Phillip Kromer

Leon Phillip Kromer died on September 21, 2025, at the Center for Conscious Living & Dying in Swannanoa, NC, at the age of 88.

Phil was born to the late Leon Adrian and Catherine Gaskill Kromer in St. Petersburg, Florida, on February 23, 1937.

Upon graduating from Clearwater High School in Clearwater, Florida, in 1954, Phil served in the U. S. Navy as a Quartermaster First Class. After active duty, he earned a BS in Forestry from the University of Florida, graduating in 1961. He married Ruth Webster Kromer in Starkville, Mississippi, and moved to California to begin a 35 year career with the US Forest Service. He served on National Forests in California, Kentucky, and North Carolina before retiring in 1995.

After 50 years of a great marriage, Ruth Kromer died in 2012. In 2014, Phil married Kathryn Morgan, enjoying a wonderful life together until Kathryn’s death in 2025. Phil is survived by sons Roger W. Kromer (Joe Moore) of Arlington, VA, and Allen P. Kromer (Kim Yurkovich) and grandchildren Eli and Lily Kromer of Asheville. He is also survived by his second family of Kathryn’s children and their families, Mike and Melissa McEachern of Hickory and Mike and Lara Morgan of Hendersonville.

Phil was a member of Groce United Methodist Church where a memorial service will be held Saturday, September 27, 2025 at 1 p.m.. Phil will be buried with Military Honors at the Western Carolina State Veterans Cemetery in Black Mountain, NC. Groce Funeral Home on Tunnel Road is assisting the family.