Barbara Ann Leaf

Barbara Ann “Barb” Leaf, 90, of McPherson, Kansas, passed away peacefully on Saturday 12:40 AM October 5, 2024 in her own room at The Cedars Ridge in McPherson, Kansas. Barb was born on June 7, 1934 in Menorah Hospital, Kansas City, Missouri, to Christian Stampe Sinkjar Thomsen and Edith Astrea (Larson) Thomsen. Barb’s parents, Chris and Edith, were immigrants from Denmark and Sweden respectively, and met while members of a Kansas City area Scandinavian society. Seven years after Chris and Edith were married, they gave birth to their only child, Barbara. Following the death of Edith, when Barb was a teenager, her father was soon married to Muriel Mackey, where Barb became the step-sister to Muriel’s son, Jim Mackey. Until she left home for college, Barb spent her childhood years growing up in the heart of Kansas City. She was baptized and confirmed at First Lutheran Church (Augustana Synod), and attended Kansas City public schools. As a young teenager, Barb began working at Harzfeld’s Department Store in Country Club Plaza, where her experience served well for a career later in life working retail at other department stores. Following graduation from Westwood High School in 1952, Barb worked for a year to help pay for college, and then went to Lindsborg, KS in 1953 to attend Bethany College. There, she majored in art and studied under Bethany’s well-known art faculty at the time. It was during her sophomore year that she met her future husband, Gerald “Jerry” Leaf, who had transferred in as a junior from Luther Academy junior college in Wahoo, Nebraska. During Barb’s junior year in 1956, she and Jerry were engaged to be married. Upon graduating that year, Jerry then went on to attend Augustana Theological Seminary in Rock Island, Illinois with the intent to be an ordained pastor in the Augustana Synod Swedish Lutheran Church. During that time, Jerry made frequent trips from Illinois to be together with his fiancée, as well as to make plans for their upcoming wedding and future life together serving congregations of the Augustana Lutheran church. Following Barb’s graduation from Bethany College, she and Jerry were married that summer in Kansas City on August 16, 1957 at Barb’s home congregation, First Lutheran Church. Barb and Jerry’s adventure of married life together began with an immediate move to Rock Island, Illinois where they lived while Jerry continued his seminary education, where Barb also taught school as a kindergarten teacher. That summer in 1958, they took up residence at Yellowstone National Park where Jerry served as chaplain in the U.S. National Park summer chaplaincy program, while Barb worked in the administrative offices of Yellowstone National Park. That fall, they moved to Los Angeles, California where Jerry served his internship year of seminary at Bethel Lutheran Church. It was there that Barb and Jerry’s family began, as Barb gave birth to a son, Tim. Barb and Jerry then returned to Rock Island, Illinois for the completion of Jerry’s senior year in seminary, after which Jerry was ordained in 1960 as a Lutheran pastor. After receiving a call to serve a Lutheran congregation in Central City, Nebraska, Barb and Jerry made that move and continued raising a family. While living in Central City from 1960-64, Barb gave birth to a second child, her daughter Kristin, and three years later, Jerry and Barb’s third child was born, daughter Karla. From there, Barb and Jerry went on to faithfully serve other Lutheran congregations, along with their three young children, while living in Vandalia, Illinois (1964-69); and Rockford, Illinois (1969-76). Barb spent her days as a stay-at-home mom, and also continued to use her artistic training and talents in many creative and productive ways. She was known for her work with a variety of special art, craft and design projects, both personal and commercial, which also included many architectural, home renovation, and interior design projects. In those years, Barb and Jerry and their kids went on many special trips and vacations together, traveling throughout the United States, even Canada, to visit grandparents, extended family and friends; to go camping in national parks and forests; and to see the many sights and cities throughout the country. Family camping and canoeing in the forests and lakes of northern Minnesota and the Boundary Waters, and enjoying the North Shore of Lake Superior and the village of Grand Marais, became Barb’s favorite vacation destination. There she found a kindred spirit in the call of the Common Loon, Minnesota’s state bird. Such travels and adventures with her husband and children were some of Barb’s most treasured memories, and gave her many animated stories to tell. In 1976, Barb and Jerry moved to Axtell, Nebraska where Jerry’s career in the church took him to serve as a director of development for Bethphage Mission. There Barb experienced a special affinity with the Nebraska landscape and western prairie, even claiming the migrating Sandhill Crane as another kindred spirit bird. Then in 1981, Jerry and Barb moved to Austin, Texas where Jerry served as executive director of the Lutheran Foundation of the Southwest. While in Austin, Barb claimed herself to be a Texan, where she and Jerry became faithful members of Shepherd of the HIlls Lutheran Church. They experienced some of the most enjoyable years of their life together in Texas, even taking country western dance lessons so they could two-step together at local dance halls. While in Austin, Barb also resumed her familiar career in retail, and enjoyed working in local department stores. In 1988, Barb and Jerry’s adventures continued, as they moved to Chicago, Illinois to live in a high rise condo on the South Side in Hyde Park, where Jerry worked in the foundation office of the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago. Barb and Jerry then became true urbanites and experienced all that Chicago had to offer, which included life in The Loop, Cubs and White Sox games, along with all the sights, shopping and restaurants of the Chicagoland area. In fact, Marshall Fields & Co. Department Store was just 15 minutes away on State Street. Jerry would often drive Barb there and drop her off so she could do a little shopping. Following semi-retirement in 1992, Barb and Jerry moved back to Axtell, Nebraska, where Jerry did pulpit supply and interim work as a pastor. They resumed living in the vintage house that they still owned, that they had moved and renovated back in the late ‘70s. Soon after, in 1995, Jerry and Barb moved to Lindsborg, Kansas with the intent to experience full retirement in the community where they had first met. While in Lindsborg, Barb oversaw the architectural design and building of a new home that she and Jerry had built. Throughout all these years, Barb and Jerry continued to travel and vacation around the country. They made many trips to visit their adult children and growing families, and to especially spend time with their grandkids. In 2011, Jerry and Barb made their final move to McPherson, Kansas. They took up residence at the retirement community of The Cedars, where Barb designed and oversaw the building of a new condo home in The Cedars Village. While there, Barb and Jerry became members of Trinity Lutheran Church in McPherson. Not long after moving to McPherson, Barb suffered a stroke, and soon moved into long term care at The Cedars Ridge, where she lived for ten years. Her residence there truly became her home, with the Cedars community, nurses and staff like a second family to both Barb and Jerry. Jerry would visit his wife Barb daily and, as long as she was able, Jerry would take Barb out for driving trips, touring the familiar Kansas countryside, where they would share memories of all their travels and adventures together over the years. During the afternoon of December 6, 2023, Jerry made his daily visit to see Barb at her Cedars Ridge residence. It was while sitting beside each other that the two of them fell asleep, with Jerry holding Barb’s hand. Moments later, Jerry unexpectedly died, where it was reported that, in that moment, Jerry had a smile on his face. Barb is remembered most by her children and grandchildren in what she would say to them whenever she was with them, “God is with you!” And whenever Barb’s children or grandchildren would be going through difficult times and challenging experiences, she would tell them, “It’s going to be alright.” Barb can now claim these words as her very own. Barb is survived by her children Tim (Martha) Leaf of McPherson, Kansas, and Karla Leaf of McPherson, Kansas. In addition, she leaves her six grandchildren: Lisa (Nate) Wittgren, Stuart (Louisa) Nickel, Mark Nickel, Edie (Jake) Stutzman, Paxton Leaf, and Maggie Leaf; and eight great-grandchildren: Lane, Nora, Harvey, June, Ivy, Raylan, Ridge, and Reese. Preceding her in death were her husband, Jerry Leaf; her parents, Chris and Edith Thomsen, step-mother Muriel Thomsen, step-brother Jim Mackey; and daughter Kristin Leaf. Inurnment will be at a later date, Elmwood Cemetery, Lindsborg, Kansas. Memorial contributions may be made to Trinity Lutheran Church, McPherson, Kansas, and to The Cedars, McPherson, Kansas.

Barbara Ann Leaf

June 7, 1934 - October 5, 2024