Maxine Leiler

Maxine Leiler Tribute Maxine Smith Leiler, age 91, of Durham, CT, peacefully departed for heaven, November 22,
2024. She was born in Shawboro, NC on August 20, 1933 to the late Harry H. and Sallie
(Garrington) Smith. She was predeceased by her husband, Gordon E. Leiler, sister, Mary Ruckle
and brother, Edward Smith. Maxine is survived by her daughter, Rennye Leiler, son, Steven
Leiler, daughter-in-law, April Leiler, and her grandchildren: Sadie, Elsie and Henry Leiler all of
Durham, CT. She enjoyed following her nieces & nephews around the country via Facebook,
and was overjoyed when so many made it to her 90th birthday celebration last year!
Maxine completed her nurses training at Norfolk General Hospital where she met the sailor she
would marry. (He happened to be the fill-in when her blind date backed out.) The majority of
her nursing career was as a labor & delivery nurse at the old WWII Veterans Memorial Hospital
in Meriden until that department closed, and was proud that her first granddaughter followed
in her footsteps. They enjoyed comparing nursing in the 50s to nursing today. Over the years,
she served in many ways. She occasionally worked blood drives, substituted as a school nurse,
even served as a nurse when Korn School acted as a shelter during the ice storm in the 70s.
She was a woman of strong faith & lived it every day - sharing several meaningful scriptures
with visitors her last weeks. She was very active in her churches - prayer chains, committees,
womens groups. She volunteered for the American Bible Society for many years. She drove
neighborhood kids to Vacation Bible School. She led Bible Studies with her husband in their
home. After his retirement, they enjoyed working with Laborers for Christ, (traveling to build
additions on various churches etc. around the country). She enjoyed Lutheran Winni Week in
NH with family & friends for many years (only missing one year from 1976-2019) and is pleased
the family continues that tradition. She enjoyed raising monarch butterflies from caterpillars
on the milkweed plants, watching the transformation to butterflies, and then releasing them.
Maxine followed the Iditarod Sled Dog Race ever since holding a puppy in Alaska. She enjoyed
watching UCONN women basketball games.
Maxine wrote a book about her mother. She kept journals for each of her grandchildren just
to jot down things they said & did from their birth into their teens & teaching them to drive.
Those really are a treasure. During the last two years, she was enjoying reading through a trunk
full of letters she had written to my grandmother over decades.
One of her underlined wishes was, "I want memories of my life to give them joy and not
sorrow.' (Joy was double underlined!)
Her family will receive relatives and friends at Zion Lutheran Church, on Thursday, December 5
at 10:00 am followed by her funeral service at 11:00 am. Burial will be at a later date. In lieu of
flowers, donations can be made to her church, Zion Lutheran Church, 235 Pond Hill Road,
Wallingford, CT 06492 or to Lutheran Winni Week c/o Heidi Beaulieu (President), 8 Gilbert
Lane, Burlington, CT 06013.
Arrangements are under the direction of B.C. Bailey Funeral Home.
Please click here to view the video tribute
Services
Public Visitation
Thursday
December 5, 2024
10:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Zion Lutheran Church
235 Pond Hill Road
Wallingford, CT 06492
Memorial Service
Thursday
December 5, 2024
11:00 AM
Zion Lutheran Church
235 Pond Hill Road
Wallingford, CT 06492 To plant a beautiful memorial tree in memory of Maxine, please visit our Tree Store.