Linda Dyan (Eubank) Leonard

Linda Dyan (Eubank) Leonard, loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister, and friend, passed away on November 15, 2022, at the age of 81.  She is now at peace and with her beloved husband of 60 years, James Fredrick Leonard, who passed only 56 days before her.  Their union was blessed with two children and two granddaughters, all of whom she adored and loved dearly.    

Linda was born on October 15, 1941, in Pratt, Kansas, where she grew up and attended Pratt High School, Class of 1959.  Linda loved the town of Pratt and spoke fondly of her time there, including working as a lifeguard at the public pool. Following high school, Linda attended the University of Kansas, where she met and fell in love with her future husband, Jim Leonard. 

Following Jim’s graduation from KU, Linda became a loving and devoted wife, homemaker, and mother of two children, Dyan and Jim.  In addition to countless hours playing board games and cards and doing art projects with the kids, she also took them on many adventures to zoos, museums, and even to a few day-time Cubs’ games at Wrigley Field when they lived in Chicago.  While raising their family, Linda also worked as a school nurse, and in retail at John A. Brown Department Store in Oklahoma City and as a Manager at Dillard’s Department Store in Plano, Texas.   In the 1980’s, Linda returned to college, earning her Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Texas at Dallas in 1990.   She then embarked on a second career as an accountant at NCH Corporation in Irving, Texas.    

In retirement, Linda and Jim spent 20+ years in the piney woods of Holly Lake Ranch, Texas, where Linda loved playing bridge and mahjong with the Holly Lake ladies and walking on the Waterfall Trail behind their house.  She especially loved doting on her granddaughters when they would come to visit, taking them on endless golf cart rides to see deer and other sites around the Lake, and keeping busy with activities, crafts, and games, including Bingo at the fire station on Saturday nights.  A favorite activity with the girls was to go walking on the trail to find pretty flowers, acorns, pinecones, and fall leaves to make a grand centerpiece for the Thanksgiving table.

Linda was an avid collector of antiques and Fire King dishes (even before Martha Stewart made them famous!).  She had a special talent for crafts, including quilting, embroidery, and sewing.  Linda was the queen of decorating, with an attic full of classy decor for each and every holiday and season.  Linda also loved to travel and was thrilled to visit Greece, Italy, Paris, and India in her retirement years. 

Linda was preceded in death by her husband, James Fredrick Leonard; her parents, Raymond Eubank and Julia (Dolly) (Alexander) Eubank; her brother, Raymond (Sonny) Eubank; and her sister, Glenda Kay Eubank.  Linda is survived by her two children, Dyan Leonard (Vic Gamez) of Irving, Texas, and Jim Leonard (Angela Gupta) of Lake Quivira, Kansas; and two grandchildren, Sophia Leonard and Anna Leonard of Lake Quivira.   

A wine bar and reception will be held to celebrate Linda’s life on Saturday, November 26, from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the Guptas’ home, 8411 Maplewood Lane, Lenexa, Kansas 66215. 

Graveside services will be held on Sunday, November 27, at 1:00 p.m. at the Mount Hope Cemetery in Humboldt, Kansas. 

In honor of Linda’s love for Holly Lake, in lieu of flowers, the family is collecting donations for a Memorial Bench (in both Linda and Jim’s names) to be placed along the Waterfall Trail behind their home.  Contributions may be made online at https://gofund.me/a71e63e1 or by check to James Leonard at 171 Terrace Trail West, Lake Quivira, Kansas 66217. 

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