In the spring of 1927 Leona Josephine was born to parents Alfred and Nellie Quimby Carr. She and her older brother Earl rounded out and completed the young family. Growing up in rural Claremont NH the family had very little in regards to money. However, they did have a life rooted in faith, music and family.
Leona did not have any sisters, but her older brother, Earl, was her protector through all the days of his life. In addition to a particularly close relationship with her mother, Leona also had wonderfully loving aunts in Nettie Bascom, Grace Bruce and Hattie Hall. She also enjoyed a lifelong sistership with her cousins; Christine Ellsworth and Elsa Tierney.
Leona was shy and caring as a child. She was inquisitive and developed a love of reading that filled her heart and soul up until the last weeks of her life. She did not see herself to be “good” at school, but no one gave better advice. As a mother, wife and friend she listened and spoke from her heart.
She enjoyed working at a local music store, Bonneaus and it was there she got to know her future husband, Bill “Buddy” Wilson. Throughout their marriage he lovingly referred to her as “Chief” or “Boss Lady”. In fact, she was his boss at Bonneaus. Bud made it very clear he was smitten by Leona, but when time continued to pass, she phoned him and subtly initiated their first date.
The newly married couple moved to Nashua where they started a family. They welcomed William (Bill), Stephen, Linda and Sharon.
Leona was a homemaker who frugally managed their finances, saving pennies and change to buy a paring knife which she used for the rest of her days when she made her incomparable apple pie. With patient care, she meticulously peeled and sliced the apples lining them up with surgical precision. Decades later, Bud (always the engineer) purchased her an apple peeler. He used it once. She never did.
In addition to apple pie, Leona’s spaghetti sauce was unforgettable. Her doughnuts made her children salivate and no Christmas was complete without her mint cookies. She loved to cook and bake almost as much as her family loved her cooking and baking.
She had strong relationships with each of her children. She knew them as individuals and loved them as such. She always ensured their home was filled with the fiercest unconditional love. For all their lives she celebrated their birthdays by cooking and baking a special meal. Holidays were intimate and joyful family celebrations and every Christmas tree was draped in a blinding blanket of tinsel which she painstakingly removed before the tree was discarded.
She was their forever cheerleader and lovingly devoted herself to ensuring their childhood years were safe, nurturing and always filled with love. She was one of the “neighborhood moms” whose home and pool was open to the neighborhood children.
Leona loved animals and was mother to many. She saved three stray kittens and brought them to the Humane Society. But, her heart and head were slightly out of sync that day, so she returned and paid to adopt the cats she brought there! Rusty, Cindy, Rusty, Ginger, Emma and Livvie were the dogs that filled her heart. Princess, Snowball, Tabitha, Cuddles, Rambo, Tiga, Missy and Mickey the cats who filled it.
Faith and Family were the two constant devotions in her life. Once her children were older she found hours of enjoyment, inspiration and fellowship in Disciple Bible School classes at her local church. She read the Bible daily and lived her life as a devoted Christian.
When Bud retired he and Leona traveled cross country in an RV, but returned every summer, as long as they were able, to Belfast Maine. Belfast brought them a peace and joy they savored. They filled their summers with friends and photography while savoring the beauty of Maine often enjoying baked haddock and Lemon Lust pie. She began every day with a hot cup of coffee and she savored the smell as much as every sip.
For ninety-six years and fifteen days, this earth was a warmer and kinder place because Leona Wilson was here. She lived a quiet life and would be embarrassed that anyone made a fuss at her passing. She is pre-deceased by her parents, husband, brother, cousins and beloved daughter-in-law Cathy. She is survived by her pets, Livvie and Missy.
She leaves behind four children Bill, Steve, Linda and Sharon who loved her as unconditionally as she them.
Friends are invited to the FARWELL FUNERAL HOME, 18 Lock Street, Nashua on Friday May 19th beginning at 10 a.m. followed by her funeral service at 11 o’clock. Interment will take place at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Claremont. Donations may be made in her memory to a favorite charity of one’s choice. To leave an online message of condolence, please visit www.farwellfuneralservice.com
