Lealia “Ruth” Leslie, August 10, 1929 – December 12, 2020. On this cold December day in Eagle, Idaho, our family lost our beloved mother, grandmother, great grandmother(Neena), great great grandmother. Despite battling breast cancer for the last two years of her life, Ruth never stopped sharing her beautiful smile, sense of humor, and spirit with the world.
Ruth was born in Ashland, Kentucky to Esther and Charles Leslie. She was raised with six brothers and sisters, Dick, Lorraine, Helen, Chuck, Fred and Margaret. Life through the depression and the war were not easy years. Growing up during this period made Ruth a hard worker and a wonderful provider for her family. She never quit, even when times were really rough.
Out of high school, Ruth and family moved to Arkansas where she went to business college. She had a best friend at school, Lily Ockerman, who introduced her to her older brother, William James Ockerman. Bill was the love of her life. They married on February 8, 1949 after a very brief courtship. The couple had four children, Sandra Jean, Linda Carol, William James, and Jimmilea. The couple moved to California in 1960. The marriage lasted 15 years before William moved back to Arkansas. This left Ruth struggling with four children to support. She worked two, and sometimes three jobs to support her family, plus took in ironing at 10 cents a piece. I have never met anyone that sacrificed so much to support her family. Ruth had grandchildren, Tony Roque, Dawn Dewhirst, Heather Roque, Billy Ockerman, Debbie Ockerman, Frank DeYoung, and Wanda Romero. Her great grandchildren are Will Reams, Zachary Torres, Katie Roque, Heath Dewhirst, Belle Dewhirst, Mitch Dewhirst, Alex Roque, Allison Roque, Akona Romero, Kekoa Romero, Kai Romero, Bruin DeYoung. Her great great grandchildren are Jesus Reams, Kylo Reams, Arial Torres, and Kaden Torres. She is also survived by nieces and nephews that love her so much. All of us are going to miss her beautiful smile and heart. Not to mention she kept us in stitches with her humor.
After her children were grown, Ruth worked at the Air Force Base in Sacramento, CA in the accounting department. She loved to dance and did a lot of the ballroom dances with her friends.
After retirement, she worked at the Roseville Seventh Day Adventist Church as the Church Secretary. I don’t even know if you could call this a job. She LOVED working there with Pastor John Freedman. She had a wonderful church family and it was definitely the job she loved the most.
In 2005 she made the move to Laramie, Wyoming. This was where her granddaughter Dawn lived and was expecting her first child. Ruth was very instrumental in the day-to-day care of three grandbabies, all under the age of 16 months. This was probably one of the best times of her life where she got to love on these babies daily. She loved the Laramie area the best, but I think it was because she was doing something that she loved the most.
The last ten years Ruth has lived in Eagle, Idaho with her daughter Linda. She is an active member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Eagle. She loves her church family and the special friends she has made here in Idaho. Her faith was always present and we know her final resting place is with God. I can just see that beautiful smile and sparkling eyes when she meets the Lord.
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