Leake Ann Kelly

Ann Kelly Leake of Charlottesville, Va., passed away peacefully on Wednesday, April 25, 2018. A proud native North Carolinian, she was born in Raleigh, N.C., on January 16, 1931, to Paul and Lois Stafford Kelly. She was the big sister to brother, Paul and twin sisters, Mary and Martha. She graduated from Needham Broughton H.S. in Raleigh in 1949. She attended Wake Forest Univ. for two years, then transferred to Duke University, completing her RN degree in 1954. There, she met her future husband, Preston Leake. They were married in 1954 and started their life together in Hopewell, Va., where sons, Luther and Lawrence were born. While in Hopewell, Ann worked at John Randolph Hospital and with the local schools as a nurse, administering some of the first public polio vaccines. In 1961, the family moved to a farm in then-rural Chesterfield Co., Va., dubbing the property "Pangunosies" where she embraced the country lifestyle and was an attentive hostess to many friends and family members over the years. She also worked as a Public Health Nurse for Chesterfield County and was also actively involved in her sons' education and activities. During these busy years, Ann returned to school, completing her BS in Nursing in 1970, then adding a Family Nurse practitioner diploma from VCU in 1976. She worked in pediatrics for several years in Richmond. In 1992, Ann and Preston returned to Hopewell, connecting with many old friends, and in 2010 they relocated to Westminster Canterbury of the Blue Ridge in Charlottesville, making many new friend Ann's medical career echoed her lifelong desire to care for others and she was indeed a trailblazer as one of the first Nurse Practitioners in the state of Virginia. She also volunteered in many capacities over the years, including teaching parenting classes at a women's prison. She supported and participated in multiple organizations, with interests in education, art, music, gardening, human rights, and the environment. Gregarious, gracious, generous, and outgoing, she made and maintained many lifelong friends. Ann participated in countless formal and informal social groups and made connections wherever she went. She was a dancer and a swimmer in her youth, and her love of the water led her to many trips to the beach and to her condo on "The Rivah" in Tappahannock, as well as commanding a "party barge" for a time, patrolling the waters around Hopewell. Ann was predeceased by Preston Leake, her husband of 58 years; parents; and siblings. She is survived by her sons, Luther Leake and wife, Cathy Jo, of Waterbury Center, Ver., and Lawrence Leake and wife, Jett, of Ocean Springs, Miss.; as well as foster son, Bruce Jones of Virginia Beach, Va. She is also survived by granddaughters, Leann, Laurel, Kelly, Logan, Katelynn and Julia. Ann greatly appreciated the love and support of niece, Judith Peatross and her husband, Mac, of Charlottesville, Va. She also loved and was thankful for her many cousins, nieces, nephews and many other relatives and friends. The family would like to thank Ann's caregivers at Westminster Canterbury, Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital, and Hospice of the Blue Ridge. A memorial service will be held at Westminster Canterbury of The Blue Ridge in Charlottesville, Va., on Saturday, June 2, 2018, at 2 p.m. Donations in her memory can be made to The Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, The Carter Foundation, the WCBR Foundation, or honor her care for others as you choose.