Death of a neighbor

Edna M. (Bearer) Leach died Sunday and we did not realize it until today. Even though it is belated, it is important to us to print her obituary below. She was a neighbor we knew only as Doug Oplinger’s mother-in-law, but she was much more than that as the obituary shows. It is disheartening in today’s world that we know so little of neighbors who live only a block away. We should have known Edna a little better. Here’s why:

Edna M. (Bearer) Leach, 76, died Sunday after a two-year fight with cancer.

Mrs. Leach was born in Akron and raised near Akron City Hospital with her seven brothers and sisters. Over the years, she lived in Springfield Township, Firestone Park and Green. She was employed by the Ohio Bell Telephone Co. and retired from the City of Akron in 1995. She also worked all too briefly for Cousin Dan.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Maurice Leach and sister, Elsie Diefendorf. She leaves her daughter, Diane (Doug) Oplinger; grandchildren, Danielle (Nick) Lorenz of Cincinnati, Justin, of Columbus and Jaclyn, at home; brothers, Joseph (Sue), Patrick (Gail) and Paul (Jeanne), all of the Akron area; sisters, Jane Hartman of Mansfield and Rita Reed and Doris Bittner of the Akron area; and 25 nieces and nephews.

A special thank you to the second-floor nurses and staff at Cuyahoga Falls General Hospital, especially Jessica and Amy. Also, a thank-you to the VNS Hospice Care Center.

The funeral service was held on Wednesday, July 12, 2006, at 10 a.m. at the Eckard Baldwin Sanctuary Chapel, 760 E. Market St. Interment at Hillside Memorial Park.

[Akron Beacon Journal, Akron, OH, Monday, July 10, 2006, page B4, col. 6]