Leona Weinberg

Leona Marie Weinberg, 72, Bismarck, died November 6, 2004, at a Bismarck hospital. Funeral services will be Wednesday at 1:00 PM at Church of St. Anne with the Rev. Ed Wehner officiating. Burial will be at Sunset Memorial Gardens. There will be no public visitation. Leona was born on September 7, 1932, at Staten Island, New York, to Frederick William and Leona Marie Feil Yater. She was raised and educated on Staten Island, and graduated from Curtis High School in 1950. She attended Wagner College following graduation. On May 1, 1954, Leona married Edward W. Weinberg. They lived in Poughkeepsie, New York, and San Jose, California, before settling in West Hurley, New York, in 1963. Leona worked as a teacher's aide in the Onteora School District for twenty years. Edward died in August of 1991, and Leona moved to Bismarck, North Dakota, in 2001. Leona was an active member of St. John's Catholic Church in West Hurley. She was proud to serve as Parish Trustee, on the Parish Council and Finance Council, in addition to teaching religious education to elementary and high school children. She served as a Eucharistic Minister and visited shut-ins for many years. In Bismarck, she was a member of Church of St. Anne. She was a dedicated volunteer and was on the PTA at West Hurley Elementary School, pack and troop committees for Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, and was active at the West Hurley Library. At the library, she was the reading lady for preschool children. Leona continued to volunteer after moving to Bismarck. She was a Docent for the State Historical Society, and loved learning about the story of Lewis and Clark, and the history of her newly adopted state and home. In the summer, she lead Story Time With Grandma Lee in the gallery of the Heritage Center. Leona also volunteered at Northridge Elementary School, reading and sharing stories with students in the primary classrooms there. She delighted in this time spent with young children, and personally believed in the power of reading, and the value of education. Leona loved to cook and to organize and throw parties. Anyone who tasted her cooking asked for more, and usually got it. She was often teased as being very "Martha". She began the tradition of family reunion gatherings with her four sons' families, and made sure all were well fed during those times. Family time was important to Leona, whether it was watching the Wide World of Sports as a family, or attending a game or meet in which her children, and then grandchildren, were participating. She used to bring a cowbell to games and ring it loudly to cheer on her boys. Whether it was at the dining room table discussing the burning issues of the day, or during "cocktail hour", Leona enjoyed the dialogue and discussions that helped form the lives of her family. She had a wise saying for every occasion, for example "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." Leona had the ability to sit down and visit with someone for two minutes, and all of a sudden you felt like lifelong friends. It is a testimony to her social nature that in three short years in Bismarck she forged so many friendships and touched so many lives, not to mention the many close friends she had in the West Hurley and Woodstock area. Grandma Lee was everyone's favorite Grandma, and enjoyed spoiling her grandchildren and "grand pets". Her candy bowl was always full. She loved to travel to see the grandkids she had scattered around the country, and looked forward to those trips greatly. Leona was dearly loved and will be deeply missed by her family and many dear friends. She is survived by her four favorite sons and their wives, Kurt and Patricia Weinberg of Bismarck, Erich and Kathryn Weinberg of Kent, Washington, Edward and Karen Weinberg of Palm City, Florida, and Kris and Patricia Weinberg of Alpharetta, Georgia; her grandchildren who meant so much to her, Katie, Luke, Sara, Erin, Elizabeth, Patrick, Samantha, Summer, Reed, and Olivia; her brother, Frederick Yater of Ledgewood, New Jersey; her sisters-in-law, Arlene Yater of Ledgewood, New Jersey, and Emily Yater of Pompton Plains, New Jersey; one nephew, Bill Yater; one niece, Ann Yater; and one cousin, Christopher Deane of Voorhees, New Jersey. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; and her brother, William Yater. The family prefers memorials to Northridge Elementary School in Bismarck where they will be used to establish "Grandma Lee's Library", a resource center for the primary classrooms at that school.

Leona Weinberg

September 7, 1932 - November 6, 2004