Elizabeth Rene' Leach (Seymour)'s Obituary
On August 21, 2015, Rene' gained her heavenly reward and parted from this life while in residence at Glenwood Healthcare in Seymour, Missouri. She was fifty-five years old.
Daughter of Elizabeth "Joyce" and Dale Snodgrass, Rene' was born on November 22, 1959, in Springfield, Missouri. She had two siblings, older brother, Lewis, and younger sister, Lori. She was raised in Springfield, Missouri, and graduated from Glendale High School.
Rene' is survived by her two children, Jennifer (Leach) Shaw and husband, Nathan, and Matthew Leach, all of Springfield, Missouri. Rene' is also survived by her four beloved grandchildren: Isaac Shaw, 12, Aaron Shaw, 10, Annalise Shaw, 6, and Luke Leach, 8. Rene' also leaves behind a nephew, Terrence Knotts, and his two children. Rene' is also survived by her sister, Lori Ann Johnson and husband, Steve, and her mother, Joyce Snodgrass, all of Republic, Missouri.
Rene' spent the majority of her children's younger years providing in-home day care services to many children in the community of Fair Grove, where she and her family lived for many years. Rene' enjoyed teaching Bible Class and being a parent leader for Camp Fire Kids.
At the age of thirty-two, Rene' chose to pursue a college degree in nursing. She graduated from St. John's School of Nursing with an RN, and worked in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit at St. John's. She was a dedicated nurse who loved her job, the friends she made there, and the patients she cared for.
At the age of thirty-seven, Rene' was in a car accident that caused a life changing spinal cord injury. After four months in the hospital, she went home and learned to take care of herself as a paraplegic. Despite the many obstacles she faced with a disability, she continued her nursing education and obtained a BSN from Southwest Baptist University. She went on to work as an in-home nursing care evaluator for Southwest Center for Independent Living.
In her later years, working outside of her home became too difficult, but Rene' continued to live a full life. She loved to plant flowers in her outside flower gardens and she loved to care for her many indoor plants as well. She had a love of cooking and collecting cookbooks. She also loved to collect anything with pansy flowers, tea pots, and frogs. Her collections and her flower gardens were the pride of her home. Rene' also loved animals, especially her service dog, Tabbie, and her cat. She was known to feed stray cats on her back porch. Rene' enjoyed spending time with her friends, family, and especially her grandchildren. She would always have some sort of sweet treat for her and the kids to share at her house. The grandkids always knew they could count on Nana Na to have some candy on hand when they came to visit.
The last few years of Rene's life were difficult and filled with doctor's appointments, illness, and hospital stays. Yet, she wished to keep on living and being there for her family, her children, and to see her grandchildren grow. Rene' was a loving daughter, sister, mother, nana, and friend. She will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her. Her family takes peace and comfort in knowing that she is walking along the streets of gold in heaven and will never need a wheelchair again!!
Celebration of Life Services will be
11:00AM -- Saturday
August 29, 2015
Brookline Church of Christ
3086 N. Brookline Avenue
Brookline, Missouri 65619
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