Leif Zetterlund was born on June 8, 1938, in Stockholm, Sweden. He graduated from the prestigious Beskowska high school and later the University of Stockholm. Raised in the heart of Stockholm, he came to love the quiet life in the small Florida town of Clermont. During his career, he worked as a nursing home, and later, medical center, director. 

Although spending the first 30 years of his life living the city life and traveling the world, he came to love the slower pace of a small town. Many old timers in Clermont can still see him in their mind’s eye buzzing around town on one of his scooters. He also enjoyed sitting on his screened-in porch watching old westerns or, before his eyes failed him, reading the Wall Street Journal. 

For many years he had a longstanding poker group, and we imagine them all now sitting around the table in heaven dealing cards. He loved art and antiques and was always up for a trip to find another treasure. Everyone in the family has wonderful pieces of art and antiques thanks to his love for beautiful things. We like to say he is now walking the stalls of the Renninger’s of Heaven with one of his closest friends, Bob. He was a very intelligent man, able to do numbers in his head and discuss geopolitics, no matter the countries involved. All of his grandchildren have the benefit of “morfar’s” insight into various issues of the day, whether it be Sweden during WW2 or the historic trustworthiness of Russian leaders, and for that we are incredibly grateful. 

And we would be remiss if we didn’t mention how handsome he was; no one looked better in a blue blazer or tuxedo. He was dapper, had impeccable manners, and made anyone he spoke to feel welcome, no matter their background or interests. Growing up, he made sure his daughters understood that they should take their studies seriously. You could never come home and tell him that “you received a score on par with your classmates because ‘everyone thought the test was hard.’” His response was always that how others did on the exam was irrelevant to him, he only cared to know whether we had prepared for the exam and done our very best and nonetheless, he was always somewhat skeptical of a “B”.

 Above all else, he loved his wife, Monika, with whom he raised his two daughters, Charlotta and Sophia. Leif and Monika met on a very warm Swedish summer day on a beach just outside of Stockholm, where Monika was sunbathing with her nursing school friends and Leif was sailing with his best friend, Lennart. The sunshine on that day would eventually be traded for the sunshine of Spain, where they lived on the Grand Canary island, and later the sunshine of Florida, where they settled down in 1969.

We think Leif would want everyone who reads this obituary to relax and not stress too much about anything because with time it will all work out, he might finally tell you that the correct way to pronounce his name is “Lafe”, not “Leaf”, and he would tell you to never pass up an opportunity to have fun, especially when it comes to traveling and seeing the world. 

With his strong Swedish accent, he will be missed immeasurably by his family and friends. A celebration of life will be held at Zion Lutheran Church, Groveland. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Leif’s name to Zion Lutheran Church, Post Office Box 607, Groveland, Florida, 34736, or your local Lion’s Club chapter, both of which stood close to Leif’s heart.