Longtime business owner, civic leader Leo Reynolds dies
Nov. 30, 2020
Leo Reynolds, who founded multiple businesses in Sioux Falls, died Nov. 24 following complications from an auto accident in August.
He was 75.
A Minnesota native, Reynolds worked for 3M and Litton Microwave in the 1970s and was instrumental in the development of the microwave oven and construction of the Litton building in Sioux Falls, according to his obituary.
In 1980, he founded Electronic Systems Inc. in Sioux Falls with five employees. He moved it to 60th Street North four years later and grew it to run three shifts, added a second building and expanded with a location in Pierre.
He retired in 2009 but came out of retirement two years later to help his wife, Sandra, start Olive Destination Inc.
Reynolds also served as board president and a member of the executive committee of the Sioux Falls Development Foundation, helping to bring companies to the area. Additionally, he served on the executive committee of IPC, which sets standards for electronics manufacturing, and the Congressional Commission on 21st Century Work Force.
