Judith A. Leeson

Judith Ann Leeson, 81, a resident of Cadiz, Ohio for the past several years after spending a decade living in Newcomerstown, Ohio, passed away on Monday, April 7, 2025, at UPMC Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania after a time of declining health. Born April 8, 1943 in Barberton, Ohio, she was the daughter of the late George Byron and Twila Frieda (McCracken) Roush.

While raising her family, Judy spent many years living in the beauty of rural Tuscarawas County on the Moravian Trail ridge near Uhrichsville. In addition to being a loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and homemaker, Judy had worked at the former Republic Steel for 27 years. A woman of many talents, she loved to express her artistic side through painting, writing, and wildlife photography, as well as writing poetry and children’s stories. She will also be remembered for her domestic arts – whether her delicious cooking or the hand-sewn clothing and quilts that she made for her loved ones. A woman of deep and abiding faith, she had attended Feed Spring Church near Uhrichsville and Victory Assembly, and had most recently been a member of Pleasant Valley Church of Scio, overlooking Tappan Lake.

She will be deeply missed by her surviving family which includes her children, Edwin (significant other, Heidi Schaffer) Beach, Georgia (husband, Keith Miller) Beach, and Kelly (significant other, Matt Fink) Gaut; grandchildren, Kimberly (significant other, Mark Cyrus) McIntire, Julia (Zachary) Houze, and Cassy (Chase) Monroe; great-grandchildren, Mia McIntire, Max McIntire, Aurora Houze, and James Houze; step children, Robyn Leeson, Ronda Ickes, and Russell “Rusty” Leeson, Jr.; and many step grandchildren and step great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Russell Leeson, Sr. on July 16, 2005 after enjoying nearly 19 years of loving marriage since they wed on September 28, 1996.

Pastor Allen McCracken will officiate Judy’s funeral at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 15, at the R. K. Lindsey Funeral Home in Dennison. In keeping with Judy’s easy-going nature, she would want those who attend to wear laidback clothing, rather than anything too fancy. Interment will follow beside her beloved husband in Feed Spring Cemetery near Uhrichsville. Her family will receive callers from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Monday at the funeral home. Those wishing to honor Judy’s memory by a charitable contribution are encouraged to do so to Pleasant Valley Church, c/o Blair Heavilin, P.O. Box 43, Cadiz, OH  43907, Allen Jackson Ministries, P. O. Box 330128, Murfreesboro, TN  37133, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN  38105, in lieu of flowers.