Martha Leach

Leach, Martha Louise (DeLong) 81, of Beavercreek, died Monday, Oct. 29, at Trinity United Church Home in Beavercreek.

She was born July 23, 1931, in Kenton, Ohio to Lloyd and Mary Ellen (Wise) DeLong. She graduated from Upper Sandusky High School in 1948, and attended Ohio Wesleyan University, Tiffin Business College and Sinclair Community College. She married Dwight P. Leach Sept. 5, 1953.

Besides her parents, she was preceded in death by one son, Craig Leach; her brother, Charles DeLong; and her in-laws, Henry and Madge Leach.

She is survived by her husband, Dwight; one daughter and son- in- law, Pastors Laura and Ronald Shreffler of Versailles; one son and daughter-in-law, David and Terese Leach of Arnold, MO; three grandsons, Joshua Leach, Benjamin Leach and Daniel Leach of Arnold, MO; one granddaughter, Rebecca Shreffler, of Versailles; one brother and sister-in-law, James and Amelia Leach of Athens, Ohio, and West Sun City, Arizona; one aunt, Ida Mae DeLong, of Upper Sandusky; and numerous cousins, nephews and a niece.

Martha was a member of Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church in Dayton since 1958. She taught seventh-grade Sunday School and was in charge of Junior Church for many years. She also served as a former president of Church Council. She was presently a part of the Prayer Group and the FAITHful Stitchers sewing group at Faith and a member of the Women of the Church. She had served at various times as president of the Faith Women of the ELCA, the Dayton Conference Women of the ELCA and the Southern Ohio Synod Women of the ELCA. She also previously served on the board of the Churchwide Women of the ELCA. She was named the Greater Dayton Church Women United Woman of the Year in 2009. She was known for her one-woman performances of Martha of Bethany; Martin Luther's wife, Katherina von Bora; Noah's Wife; the Woman at the Well; hymn writer Fanny J. Crosby; and Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist.

Martha was employed as secretary to the principal of Fairmont West High School from 1972 to 1975 and as secretary to five superintendents of the Kettering School District from 1975 until her retirement in 1992. Her passion was in getting educational secretaries and office personnel to take pride in their work. A member and past president of the National Association of Educational Office Personnel, she helped found Educational Office Personnel of Ohio (EOPO) and Centerville-Oakwood-Kettering Educational Secretaries (COKES). Martha was named to the Chester A. Roush Educational Hall of Fame in 1994.

Visiting hours will be 6-8pm Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012 at Newcomer Funeral Home, 3380 Dayton-Xenia Rd (Beavercreek Chapel) . A Celebration of Life will take place at Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church, 3315 Martel Drive at Oakdale, Dayton, 10:30am Friday, Nov. 2, 2012, with the Rev. Stephen H. Kimpel officiating. (Additional visiting hours will be 9:30-10:30am Friday at church). Memorials may be made to Faith Lutheran Church, or to Hospice of Dayton, 324 Wilmington Ave, Dayton,OH 45420. Burial will be in Beavertown Cemetery, Kettering. To leave a message of condolence, please visit www.NewcomerDayton.com.