Mary Alice Leisy 11-13-24

Mary Alice Leisy left the earth and made her way to heaven on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, surrounded by her loved ones. She was born Mary Alice Stevens on Dec. 8, 1946 to Howard and Marge (Dirks) Stevens, sister to Elizabeth Dahlstrom.
Mary grew up in Aberdeen – the community she devoted so much of herself to. Her childhood was filled with dear friends that she was friends with until the end. Her childhood was a rich childhood that she recounted often of helping her parents, playing with friends, trips to different family activities, girl scouts, 4-H and so many activities in the church. Her childhood friends are remembering her laugh that was infectious and sounded like she was “both pleased and surprised.” They are remembering how NICE she was – which probably we will all remember her for. She was funny and calm and kind and steadfast.
Mary married Donald Leisy on Feb. 3, 1968 and had two daughters, Elizabeth Dawn (Leisy) Farrell and Heather Leisy. Mary was dedicated to her family – to her parents, her husband and her two daughters. She loved baking with her mom and also her daughters (on her last day, she talked about rolling out the peppernuts) – the holidays were filled with wonderful cookies and wonderful traditions (her hamballs are legendary).
She loved gardening with her dad (they created a beautiful lawn and garden together). She loved creating things (she would sew for her daughters and their friends – Heather and Michelle were recounting their beautiful satin jackets she made for them) and had many different projects she did throughout her life. Her daughters always felt loved and supported by her – they know it was truly a gift to have such a special mom who cared so much for them and set the best example for them. Her “girls” know that their strength comes from her.
She also dedicated her life to being a devoted wife and helping Don with the farm. Her family was everything to her, both her immediate family as well as her aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews – she kept family ties, stories and traditions alive for everyone. She was grateful for her son-in-law, Michael, for the love he shows Dawn and the help he gave to her and to Don. She became a very good friend to Fan who felt welcomed to the family by her, knowing Heather has someone special to share life with. Her grandchildren (Johnny, Meg and Luke) were her pride and joy and they love her dearly. “I love you too, babe” was a constant phrase from her to them and something she said a lot to them in the end. She now has a new great-granddaughter she got to meet that is her namesake which touched her deeply (Amelia Reine Mary Farrell) – named after her because Johnny and Ansley want their daughter to have the strength her great-grandmother had. Her family was always in awe of her strength, determination and her ability to guide situations (her Jedi mind tricks that they knew very well).
Mary was dedicated to her beloved town of Aberdeen. She served on the City Council for 27 years. She was passionate about bettering her town and community and spent countless hours/years working on getting federal support for the airport for Aberdeen and obtaining the 66 acres for the project. She had served on the library board. She helped start the Gem Trail in the community and loved beautifying her community with the planters on Main Street. She taught Fit & Fall classes to help others. Her family (and likely others in the community) admired her for her resourcefulness in finding ways to make projects happen.
As much as she was dedicated to Aberdeen, she was even more dedicated to her church. What a pillar she was for the First Mennonite Church. It was a source of pride to her as her grandfather was one of the first pastors to the church. She loved Camp Palisades, having been one of the inaugural campers there and then spending many summers there as a camper and later as one of the amazing cooks – no other camp ever serves the type of food as the wonderful Mennonite women of Aberdeen. She was in charge of United Women for many years where she helped organize and plan many dinners throughout the years. She loved creating gathering opportunities and feeding people knowing that the dinners were feeding both people’s bodies and souls. She loved working with the ladies of the church in the kitchen and spending time with them in service.
A memorial service will be held at the First Mennonite Church in Aberdeen in April so all the people that she would want to be there can make the trip to the town and church she loved so much. More information to follow in the coming months. If you would like to honor her, donations can be made in her name to a few of the places/projects that she loved so dearly: First Mennonite Church, Mary Leisy fund, 381 W Washington Ave., Aberdeen, ID 83210, or Gem Community Trail, PO Box 190, Aberdeen, ID 83210.