LESLIE HORAK
November 20, 1922 – November 17, 2010

Leslie Horak, age 87, a long time Park Rapids, MN area resident and former owner of the Holiday Resort on Lower Bottle Lake, passed away peacefully on November 17, 2010 at Essentia Health in Fargo, ND with his loved ones at his side.
Les was born on November 20, 1922 in Omaha, NE to Joe and Antonia (Patach) Horak. It was in Omaha that he attended public schools and grew into manhood. He went on to attend the Omaha University in the early 1940’s. When World War II broke out, Les enlisted in the United States Army where he proudly served his country in the South Pacific. For much of his tour duty, Les was stationed on Tinian Island. After his honorable discharge, Les pursued his gift for music by playing trumpet in several big name jazz orchestras and toured the United Stated for several years. On October l5, 1952, Les was united in marriage to Dorothy E. Barnes in Worthington, MN. This union was blessed with a son, Dirk. Although Les pursued his love of trumpet playing at small venues for many years, he gave up traveling professionally so that he could be home with his wife and small son. Les made his home in the Omaha area where he worked as a carpenter for a number of years. In 1949, Les had purchased property on Lower Bottle Lake north of Park Rapids with a dream of building and operating a resort someday. In the early 1960’s, Les and his family began constructing the Holiday Resort which they opened for business in 1964. In the early years, they operated the resort through the summer and returned to Omaha Fall through Spring. In 1968, they moved to Park Rapids full time and devoted their lives to a career that spanned nearly 30 years. In the off season, Les continued doing construction work and many landmarks in the area are fruits of his labor. In 1996, they retired from the resort and built a home on the back side of their property. Throughout his entire life, Les was an adamant outdoorsman. He loved to fish and hunt, and enjoyed filling his spare time doing taxidermy work for many happy customers. In July of 2000, Les’s life was forever changed by the death of his precious wife, Dorothy. He has continued to make his home near Lower Bottle Lake right up until the time of his death.
Les will be lovingly remembered by his son, Dirk (Mary) Horak of Arthur, ND; his precious grandchildren: William and Cheyenne; nephew, Gary and his family of Missoula, MT; as well as other family and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Dorothy and sister, Val.
Funeral services will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 20, 2010 at the Jones-Pearson Funeral Home in Park Rapids, MN. Casketbearers will be his family and friends. Visitation will be held for one hour prior to the services at the funeral home on Saturday. Interment will be at 3:00 p.m. at the Bohemian Cemetery in Omaha, NE on Monday, November 22, 2010.