Frances "Joan" Leonard

Frances “Joan” Leonard, 81, died Tuesday, March 8, 2022, at Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah, Georgia. She was born June 21, 1940, on a farm operated by her parents, Clarence and Frances (Dawson) Waltz, located southeast of Billingsville in Union County, Indiana. Joan spent most of her life in Union County. In 1949, after renting three different farms south of Billingsville, her parents bought a farm in Center Township near Goodwins Corner. In 1959, Joan married the love of her life, Donald Raymond Leonard. In 1968, after living in Liberty for nine years, Joan, her husband, and two children moved to a home they built in the northwest corner of her parents’ farm, where eventually a third child was raised. After Donald passed in 2001, she bought a house in Liberty. In 2018, she moved to West Des Moines, Iowa, then to Statesboro, Georgia, in 2019. Early on, Joan’s employers included the Public Service office in Liberty, Kaiser Chemicals in Kitchell, and Farm Bureau in Liberty. Later, she became a dedicated homemaker—raising three boys, supporting her factory-working husband, caregiving for her parents, volunteering at church and community organizations, and providing joy and loving care to many others in her life. Joan loved playing games, cooking, baking, gardening, taking long road trips across the country, and researching family history. Her absence will be deeply felt online in the twice-weekly Game Night and weekly Genealogy Night events that she never missed in the two years they have occurred. Family and friends dearly knew her as “Ollie” and “Aunt Jojo.” A more detailed, collaborative biography and family tree are published online at wikitree.com/wiki/Waltz-608. Survivors include three sons, Kirby Leonard (Karen) of Liberty, Kent Leonard (Sheri) of St. Cloud, Florida and Kelly Leonard (Melvin) of Statesboro, Georgia; one granddaughter, Kristen (Billy) of St. Cloud, Florida; one brother, Jimmie Waltz (Ellen) of Liberty; and her Cocker-Bichon companion, Jasmine. Joan was preceded in death by her parents and her husband. Visitation will be Wednesday, March 16, 2022, 6-8 p.m. at Showalter Blackwell Long Funeral Home, and a graveside service will be at 4 p.m. Thursday, March 17, 2022, at West Point Cemetery—both in Liberty. Flowers or a donation to Mental Health America (mhanational.org) are welcome.