Ace Hardware store owner, 'one tough mother,' confronts overdose crisis after losing son to fentanyl

Michelle Leopold is "one tough mother." And she has the ink to prove it. 

It’s a tattoo on her ankle dedicated to her son Trevor, who died of an overdose in 2019 when he took an Oxycodone pill that had been laced with fentanyl.

"I always thought I was not a tattoo person," Leopold told FOX Business in a recent interview in New York City.

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"But if I were to get a tattoo I would get ‘one tough mother.’ And then my son died, and I knew I wanted a tattoo, so that was the first one I got."

Michelle Leopold and her husband, Jeff Leopold, are owners of Standard 5&10 in San Francisco, California, and five other Ace Hardware stores in the Bay Area.

They turned their son’s death into a crusade to raise awareness of the dangers of fentanyl and other deadly drugs.

Their story, and 99 others from local Ace Hardware store owners around the country, are shared in "Heartware Stories." 

Ace Hardware, founded in 1924, produced the video and digital series to celebrate its 100th anniversary of being locally owned pillars of more than 5,000 communities around the nation.

The stories are culled from people in all 50 states. 

They include touching and inspiring videos of people around the country working together to build better communities, and are found at acehardware.com/heartwarestories. 

They’ll also be available on ROKU starting this fall. 

The Leopolds’ story is especially relevant on August 31, recognized as International Overdose Awareness Day.

Using Ace as its platform, the Leopold family is spreading awareness about the dangers of fentanyl. They train staff, customers and community members, while distributing free Narcan kits and educational materials on how to help others. 

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The Leopolds hope to prevent other parents from having to bury a child because of fentanyl or other deadly drugs.

The "Heartware Stories" also draw attention to a factor Ace Hardware believes differentiates its business from that of its big box-store competitors. 

"Ace is made up of local stores with local store owners," Kim Lefko, chief marketing officer at Ace Hardware, told FOX Business. 

"There are 5,000 Ace Hardware stores across the country and I would say all 5,000 stores measure the vibe of their communities and their neighborhoods every day." 

While big-box home improvement stores are touted for their convenience, Lefko cites Ace Hardware’s 5,008 stores nationwide as the ultimate convenience. 

"We have more stores than our two biggest competitors combined," she said. 

"So 80% of households in the United States are within 15 minutes of an Ace Hardware store."

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The local impact of the stores goes far behind selling grout, grills and gardening supplies. The community impact is highlighted in the 100 "Heartware Stories." 

John and Laurie Luitgaarden of Wexford Ace Hardware in Wexford, Pennsylvania, launched "Operation Brown Bear."

They’ve delivered teddy bears via the family’s small single-engine plane – John Luitgaarden is a pilot – to thousands of Children’s Miracle Network patients in Pennsylvania and surrounding states. 

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Weston Jacobs of Weakly-Watson Hardware in Brownwood, Texas, led the effort to repair shocking damage to a treasured veterans' memorial after it was vandalized.

The repair work included replacing giant 3,000-pound stones that had been broken into pieces, at a cost of more than $40,000. 

And Michael Wynn, owner of Sunshine Ace Hardware in Bonita Springs, Florida, turned his store into a "lifeline" for the local community after the Gulf Coast was devastated by Hurricane Ian in 2022.

Leopold’s fight continues each day. 

She now wears three tattoos, each one chronicling a stage on her journey to ensure her son did not die in vain.

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Her most recent tattoo, on her upper left arm which she shows through her sleeve, reveals a heart made of barbed wire.

"That’s because it’s a hard, hard heart," said Leopold. "There’s a lot of sharp edges about love. But love is important."