Mary Alice Leonard

Mary A. Leonard, 93, of The Homeplace in Midway, sent her indomitable spirit to the angels on June 11, 2019.

Her last four years were spent in Midway where she lived in Faith Cottage at The Homeplace. Mary Leonard — she often was called by both names — was the first to move into Faith Cottage and came to know many of the residents and their families. Though her memory was failing, she strived to remember names and information about everyone she met.

Mary Leonard was born in 1926 in Asheville, N.C., to Maude and Frank Leonard. She attended Western Carolina Teachers College (now Western Carolina University). She moved to Baltimore and worked as a medical technologist in the chemistry lab at Johns Hopkins Hospital for 40 years. She had a great love for Hopkins and learned its history. Her interests included music — particularly piano — theater, literature, gemstones, travel and all new devices that came along, although she stopped at personal computers.

She was preceded in death by her brother, Henry, of Spindale, N.C., and Edward, who was killed in World War II. Mary Leonard is survived by her cherished friend of 67 years, Sara Porter of Midway, and Sara’s daughters Anne Porter Elliott of Frankfort and Mary Grayson Porter of Fort Myers, Fla. Her family is grateful for the care and attention she received at The Homeplace.

Graveside service and burial will be 10 a.m. June 22 at Riverside Cemetery in Asheville. Friends are invited to a celebration of Mary Leonard’s life at the Gathering Place on The Homeplace campus, 2 p.m. June 29. Arrangements by Blackburn and Ward Funeral Home in Versailles, Ky., and Groce Funeral Home in Asheville