Ethel Louise Leonard, of Vero Beach, died peacefully on Aug. 10 at the age of 94. Her death was preceded a year earlier by her beloved husband Thomas M. Leonard, who were together in devoted matrimony for 66 years.
Ethel was born in Detroit, Mich., in 1920 to parents of New York state farmers. The family moved back east where her father Aaron Andrews had a button business in Baltimore, Md., and her mother, Mona, told stories of singing in church and playing piano for some of the first silent movies.
Ethel graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Maryland Art Institute. She attended night school at Johns Hopkins University and taught art at Sparrow’s Point High School where she started a woodworking shop, taught cabinet making and the art of hand making marionettes.
It was not long into her career that she would meet the dashing and unflappable Thomas Leonard. They married in 1947 and soon had their first daughter, Susan. Five years later, their daughter Janet was born and the family moved to Old Greenwich, Ct.
Ethel was a devoted mother and enjoyed the simple pleasures of spending time with her family. Her husband’s career choices would move the family to Rhode Island where they built a home by the Narragansett Bay. After 25 years in Rhode Island, it would then be Ethel’s choice to move them back to Maryland where she was a dedicated grandmother to her young grandchildren.
They also established a home in Vero Beach at Johns Island where they would reside for 35 years.
Ethel lived and loved through the successes of her husband Tom and her children and grandchildren. She also pursued a love for interior decorating, Williamsburg colonial furniture and collecting art from local artists she admired.
Ethel’s enduring faith was her greatest strength and was a constant light through dark times of sickness and loss. With great love for her family and her cherished Cairns and Westies, “Nana” instilled in her children and grandchildren the meaning of the words “family” and “home.”
She will be greatly missed. Mrs. Leonard is survived by her daughters, Susan (Phillip) Frost, of Vero Beach, and Jan Leonard; and four grandchildren.
A private burial will be held at the family cemetery in Baltimore, Md., where Ethel will be laid to rest with her beloved husband Tom.
