Eva Marie Leonard

(1922-2016)

Eva Marie Leonard, 93, of DeKalb, Illinois, died March 17, 2016, of congestive heart failure in Oak Crest, DeKalb Area Retirement Center.

She was born in New York City on June 14, 1922, the daughter of Ludwig and Maria Antonia (Bergmann) Bendix.  She grew up in Rye, New York, and after graduating in 1944 from Radcliffe College she earned a Master's degree in Secondary Education and Social Studies at New York University. She taught at various schools in New York and New Jersey.  In the summer of 1949 she participated in a trip to study economic and political developments in post-war Europe.  In 1950 she returned to Radcliffe for graduate work in medieval history, earning a Master's degree in 1951.  In 1953 she met Henry S. Leonard, Jr., a graduate student of mathematics, and they were married September 4, 1954.  They lived in Somerville, Massachusetts, until Summer 1958 while Henry completed his Ph.D. in Mathematics at Harvard.  During that time Eva served with the Somerville League of Women Voters on the Know Your Town project, and was elected President of the Somerville League.

Eva and Henry moved to Pittsburgh in Fall 1958 where Henry had a position in the Mathematics Department at Carnegie-Mellon University.  Eva was active in the organization for faculty wives.  Their son Alan was born in 1964, and Eva's widowed mother came to live with them.  In 1968, while on sabbatical at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, Henry accepted an appointment to the Mathematics Department of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb.  In 1987-88 Eva and Henry spent a sabbatical year at UMIST, Manchester, England, and lived in the "Borough" of Heaton Chapel just south of Manchester.  Eva greatly enjoyed this community.

In DeKalb Eva still belonged to the League of Women Voters, but she was more active in St. Paul's Episcopal Church.  She was President of the Episcopal Church Women, taught Sunday School, and edited the Church newsletter.  She enjoyed following local government and reading about old houses and about education at all levels.  She loved gardening, cooking, genealogy and travel.  Her Radcliffe education encouraged her curiosity, wide interests, and the ability to identify the kernel of any discussion, and enriched her relationships with her family, friends, and organizations.  Above all Eva had the gift of joy.

Eva is survived by her husband Henry, her son H. Alan (Brenda) Leonard of Boiling Springs, SC, her grandson Tim Leonard of Koblenz, Germany, her nephew Matthew (Josie) Bendix of Port Washington, NY, and her niece Margo (Steven) Batha of Los Alamos, NM.  She was preceded in death by her parents and by her brother Ernst L. Bendix of Staten Island, NY.

There will be a Memorial Service for Eva at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 900 Normal Road, DeKalb, IL on April 8.  There will be a visitation at 10 am, service at 11 am, and luncheon at noon, all at the church.  Committal and burial will be at 1:30 pm at Fairview Cemetery in DeKalb.  In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Eva Marie Leonard Memorial Fund at St. Paul's Episcopal Church.  To send an online condolence please visit: www.finchfuneralhomedekalb.com .  Arrangements were entrusted to Finch Funeral Home 310 Oak St. DeKalb, IL 60115 815-758-3841.