Leah Steeley Hartwig

Leah Steeley Whitmore Hartwig, affectionately known as “Mojack”, age 95, passed away peacefully on October 16th to begin her eternal journey in heaven. She was born on June 16th , 1930, in Satsuma, Florida to parents J. H. & Mattie Whitmore. Leah was the final living sibling of 13 children which included nine (9) daughters and four (4) sons. After graduating high school and then enlisting in the Navy WAVES, she met the love of her life, William D. (Bill) Hartwig. They were married soon after on the 5th of February 1954 in the Navy Chapel, Great Lakes Illinois.

A few months later, they moved to Houston, Texas where Bill started his career as an accountant/CPA. Within a short period, Bill & Leah decided to make Houston their permanent home to raise their three (3) children, Michael, Carol & Steven. Bill & Leah enjoyed making many friends in the Houston/Katy area and these fun relationships turned into great times together. With their favorite traveling couples, they spent many times in many places but her favorite trip was the incredible ride on the Orient Express.

Leah was deeply devoted to her religious Lutheran values and her closeness to God & Jesus was certainly apparent in the way she lived. She would do anything for anybody at anytime and loved attending church services until she could not do so physically.

One of her most favorite things in life was her nickname “Mojack.” She knew she had to be the only grandparent in the entire world who also owned that name…and she was extremely proud of that fact. While Bill became known as “Pops,” her name was derived from her eldest grandson, Ryan, but no one knows how he actually created the nickname as a toddler.

Mojack insisted on her two (2) small cups of coffee in the morning and her 1 ½ glasses of wine in the evening. She had a great view of the golf course out her back windows and many important is discussions, primarily involving women’s fashion & other lesser worldly issues, were resolved at the breakfast table. She loved to own many clothes in many favorite colors including, beige, light beige, dark beige, white, off-white & light yellow.

She is survived by her 3 children & their spouses, Michael Hartwig (Liz), Carol Neal (Scott) & Steven Hartwig (Jeanie). Also, 6 grandchildren, Ryan Hartwig, Hunter Hartwig (Ryan), Brett Neal (Carrie), Colton Neal (Leslie), William Hartwig & Katie Hartwig. And finally by 3 great-grandchildren, Molly Neal, Maggie Neal & Parker Neal.

The family will hold a private ceremony on Thursday, October 23rd . In lieu of flowers, anyone wishing to make a donation in her memory can choose the Christ the King Lutheran Church or charity of your choice.

Our entire family will certainly miss our Mojack but we know she is in heaven with God and still trying to teach Pops how to dance, including the Cha-Cha-Cha. She was a lovely lady and although she was small in stature, she was very feisty to say the least. We are certain there will never be another “Mojack” either in name or likeness. We were fortunate to have her for so many years and we will love her forever.