Remembering LaVerna Leipold
Image credit: Star Tribune, December 24, 2021
This week, Lake Minnetonka has lost a pillar of its community with the passing of LaVerna Leipold on 12/10/2025.
LaVerna was, undoubtedly, one of the most recognizable historians in our community and has been for the last 50+ years. She and her husband, Darel, are best known for their Excelsior antique shops and have made an impact on the Lake Minnetonka area in ways that most could never imagine.
Opening Leipold’s of Excelsior in 1971, the couple began a legacy of historical preservation, education, and proliferation. It is largely through their efforts that the flame of Minnetonka’s history continued to burn in a window of time that, otherwise, saw little thought put into our past. Their custodianship toward preserving not only the memory of Lake Minnetonka’s past, but also toward preserving physical remnants of that past is something that cannot be understated. In a community where rampant redevelopment tends to reign supreme, many of our historical landmarks have been lost, buried, or left to rot.
After the closure of Excelsior Amusement Park in 1972, the Darel & LaVerna were instrumental in photographing scenes, documenting stories, and removing items of interest that, without them, would have been lost to time and changing scenery. Several of these photos have been published by the couple in their many books and pamphlets, produced and sold at their shop in Excelsior. Her 1975 publication titled “The Lake Minnetonka Book of Days” was especially revolutionary in that it detailed one historically significant event for every day of the year. However, there are a great many additional works that offer historical knowledge of great value as well.
By the 1980’s & 90’s, LaVerna would prove to be an important figure in the fight to keep & restore Steamboat Minnehaha after its recovery from the lakebed. Again, through this effort (and the great efforts of many, many, more) the steamer was returned to active passenger service in 1996. These activities likely prompted her publication of another book, “The Minnehaha or More Minnetonka Memories” in 1996.
Historical preservation aside, LaVerna’s involvement in community events was on a nearly unmatched level. Through her work with the Excelsior Chamber of Commerce, Apple Days celebrations, and other community outreach, it’s no surprise that her voice was a recognizable one in both Excelsior and the greater Lake Minnetonka community. On a more personal level, she was happy to chat with anyone who’d come to visit her at the Excelsior shop to talk history, local events, or just shoot the breeze for a while. It’s a rare person who carries a smile into conversation with strangers, no doubt.
For the author, this sentiment rings true as well. On countless occasions in Leipold’s shop, LaVerna was happy to answer questions of history, reference artifacts, and more. Her willingness to aide younger generations who aspired to become couriers of their locale’s history was unrivaled in the greater Lake Minnetonka historical scene.
It is our belief that the town of Excelsior and Lake Minnetonka at large will notice the stark differences that come with her passing. However, loss is the nature of living and, in that knowledge, we are able to value a person for all that they stood for while they were among us. Our sympathies and prayers to the Lord are with LaVerna, her husband Darel, family, and their many friends.
Photo credit: Excelsior - Lake Minnetonka Chamber of Commerce
