Leona Ruth LaJoie was born on September 28, 1937 in Kalispell, MT to Grace Julia Hartsoch LaJoie. Leona's father, Leonard LaJoie, had died three months earlier in a work-related accident. Leona passed away on November 28, 2023 at Harvard Square Retirement Center in Denver, CO.

Grace married Walter Kerbaugh when Leona was two and they moved to rural Ray, ND where Leona attended the Hartsoch country school for grades one through five. She finished school in Ray where she graduated co-valedictorian of her class in 1955. Being the eldest of seven children, she had the responsibility of caring for her brothers and sisters. If her mom gave her the choice of watching her siblings or doing the dishes, she always chose to watch the kids. She and her brother Ray milked the cows and separated the milk every day. Having no running water, carrying heavy buckets full from the spring was another daily chore for the Kerbaugh kids, so Leona would try to make it fun for the younger ones by singing along the way. There was always lots of work to do on the farm, especially for the oldest.

In the fall of 1955, she began her college days at Dickinson State Teacher's College (now Dickenson State University) where she earned a one year teaching certificate that qualified her to teach in a country school. She taught two years at the one room Anderson school north of Ray, staying with the Aase family the first year and living in her school room the next year. There were 8 students in six grades. In 1959 she returned to DSTC to earn her two year teaching certificate, which allowed her to teach in city schools, and taught school the following year in Beach, ND. While in Dickenson she met her future husband, Jerome Lebo. They married on June 24, 1960, moved to Hettinger, and had a daughter, Terri, in 1962. Two years later, they moved to Minot, ND where she continued her education at Minot State Teacher's College (now Minot State University) ultimately earning a Masters Degree in Speech Pathology. In 1967, the family moved to Ottawa, IL. Leona taught school in the nearby town of LaSalle briefly before becoming a speech therapist at the Easter Seal Society in Ottawa. Here she worked with patients having severe speech disorders, some driving for many miles just to see her. Among her most challenging cases was a young girl who suffered a traumatic brain injury after falling from her horse.

Leona and Jerome divorced in 1968 and 4 years later, after returning to school and earning a certificate in Special Education, Leona and Terri moved to Colorado Springs, CO where Leona taught special needs children until she retired in 2002. During her time in Colorado Springs, Leona, who loved the mountains, joined the Rocky Mountain Hiking Club and summited several '14ers'! Gardening was another hobby and her garden, which took up most of the back yard, was a neighborhood showplace. Her love of Colorado scenery led to her delight in using the Garden of the Gods, a local state park with 300 ft. red sandstone rock formations, as a backdrop in her Christmas photo cards. Leona also liked to keep healthy by hiking the hilly neighborhood streets and you had better be in shape if you wanted to keep up with her!

In later years, one of her favorite hobbies was geneology and she contacted many family members to collect photographs of distant relatives. She researched the Hartsoch-Dawson family ancestry and created an extensive family tree. She lugged this large family tree and all the catalogued and organized photo albums to family reunions to share with everyone.

Leona also enjoyed reading and watching baseball. She often attended the local AA minor league Sky Sox games and was delighted when Colorado acquired a major league team. She knew the stats of every one of the Colorado Rockies players. Throughout her life, her greatest joy was family and her beloved daughter and pet dogs were the light of her life.

Leona is survived by her daughter, Terri Lebo (Dave Short); brother, Ray (AZ); Sisters, Nita (Mike) Hepper (WA); Coleen (Gerald) Perdue (MT); Sharon Kerbaugh (WA); Karen (Harold) Sundhagen (MT& AZ); aunt, Darlene Donath (FL); a dozen nieces and nephews and many cousins.

Leona is preceded in death by her parents Grace and Leonard and step-father, Walter Kerbaugh; one brother, Dennis Kerbaugh and wife Patty; niece, Stephanie Perdue, sister-in-law, Marcy Selness Kerbaugh Miller and many aunts, uncles and cousins.

Cremation will take place. A memorial service will be held on January 6, 2024, 1:00pm at Unity on the Avenue Spiritual Center, 4670 E 17th Ave Pkwy, Denver, CO 80220. There will be a second memorial service held in North Dakota in 2024 in the summer where her ashes will be interred near her parents (date/location to be determined). Memorial service video can be found https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/mn233lsxzeozv1nmbu679/LeonaRuthLaJoie_Memorial-Service_1.6.23.mp4?rlkey=eclkum8q14bpihmnz1j9x9653&dl=0

Please leave thoughts and messages via the Guestbook tab on this website, however in lieu of flowers, please plant a tree or send a donation to Brighton Hospice in Colorado or the Alzheimer's Society .