LISA K. LEACH

Aug. 27, 1964 – July 12, 2015

She was born Lisa Lindsey, a name as pretty as she was. She was a funny, quirky child who loved music and words.

As she grew up and moved on to college, her gifts became evident. A skilled and funny writer. A great organizer as editor of the campus newspaper. And a compassionate volunteer for charitable causes.

Of course, I didn’t know that when I fell for those gorgeous brown eyes. That was the joy and beauty of Lisa. There was always so much more beneath the surface. She was the girl with the crystal clear singing voice – who was too nervous to sing in front of people. She wouldn’t venture onto a stage herself except maybe with her friend, Heidi, or with the help of a few drinks, but she became the glue that held together and supported her family of performers – and became as much a part of the Springfield theater community as anyone who ever stood in a spotlight.

She was the teenager who sneaked a smoke, or maybe stayed out too late with a boyfriend – who became the mom whose kids could never pull a fast one on her. She was the wife of an outspoken radio host – who was ready to go to battle against anyone who was ever outspoken about her husband. She shied away from cameras, even though her inner and outer beauty always came through in every photograph. She was the shy woman who became an accomplished human resources professional.

She was a perfectionist who could make the most memorable typos – from her college newspaper ad for a restaurant with a special on “fried children,” to the email to set her monthly get-together with some of the important women in her life. She meant to type “Hello, Ladies,” but something got lost along the way – and the “Hell Ladies” were born.

She could do battle with her teenagers but she was Lindsey’s best friend and Dylan’s fiercest champion. She was a wedding planner to rival any of the many that she saw on TV, as anyone knows who was with us on one of the happiest days of our lives, when DJ joined our family as Lindsey’s husband.

And there was never a prouder mother than when Dylan’s musical or artistic abilities were on display. She will never be gone from our midst, because the best of both of us lives on in both of them.

And she could get upset at my long hours, nights, weekends and holidays – but when it got down to crunch time, she understood and supported me in whatever I needed. Everything I am and everything I have, including our two amazing children and our new son-in-law (and our grandchild, due this spring), is because of her.

And she could, at times, overreact to little things… and then become our rock in times of grave crisis. And now we have to face this crisis without her. We have to be the rock that she always was for us. It won’t be easy. In fact, there will never be anything more difficult. But just as she was always proud of her family in everything we did, we will make her proud again. We will always cherish and honor her memory. In our minds and in our hearts, she will be forever young, forever beautiful, forever a wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend. Forever our Lisa.

Jim Leach, husband