Kathlyn Leff Jesse

Kathlyn Leff Jesse 1923 ~ 2009 Kathlyn Leff was born on January 12, 1923, in Salt Lake City, Utah to Harry and Esther Leff. By the time she was four-years-old, she was noted as an accomplished young ballet dancer. She wowed audiences in the Capitol Theater in Salt Lake, where she was a soloist performing Russian Dances that included hundreds of Russian Squats and turns in second. Kathlyn performed on the same Vaudeville circuit as many famous performers of the time including the Marx Brothers. Kathlyn attended and graduated from East High School in Salt Lake City. She moved to California in 1952 where she met and married a NASA engineer named Eugene Jesse and moved with him to San Jose. Together they raised four children.Kathlyn also contributed to her community. She was one of the first volunteer organizers of the after-school community school programs at Linda Vista Elementary in San Jose, and devoted herself tirelessly to teaching the arts, including dance, piano and theater arts, to neighborhood kids in her classes. Throughout her years in San Jose, she showed a commitment and drive for making her community a better place, starting with giving ALL kids a chance to aspire to a better life. Throughout her life, Kathlyn was always passionate about learning. She had a brilliant mind, and had diverse academic interests. She earned an AA Degree in Library Sciences, and later in life pursued a Bachelor's degree in Physical Education with a Dance Emphasis from San Jose State and the University of Utah in her fifties. Kathy was also a visionary. She advocated a healthy diet of whole, natural foods and natural living decades before such practices became the norm. Kathy also believed in holistic health practices, studying ayurvedic medicine and earning her massage therapy license in her sixties. Kathy had a vibrant spirit from her early years until the end of her life. She firmly believed that you are only as old as you feel. She loved life and helped those around her appreciate it more. Nobody was a stranger to Kathy. She welcomed every person in her life as a potential friend and dance partner. After a 10 year battle with Alzheimer's disease, Kathy passed away peacefully on Monday, May 18, 2009 surrounded by her family. She was preceded in death by her husband Eugene Jesse, who passed away on May 9, 1982. Kathy is survived by her four children, Rose Herrera, Sandra Figueroa, John Jesse, and Mary Jesse; her 10 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Kathy is also survived by her sister, Dorothy Voight, who lives in Walnut Creek California, her brother Harry Aaron Leff, Jr., who resides in Novato, CA; and her sister Mona McInelly, who resides in Desert Hot Springs, CA. Services will be held on Sun., May 31 in Salt Lake City, Utah at Cottonwood Memorial Mortuary, 4670 Highland Drive. Viewing at 11 a.m. and Service at 12 p.m. Interment immediately following at Wasatch Lawns Memorial Park, 3401 Highland Drive. Donations can be made in Kathy's name to the Alzheimer's Association of Northern California http://www.alz.org/norcal Online condolences at www.memorialutah.com