Alethea Leah Hedstrom

Leah was an artist and an after-school art teacher, and she was a housewife who was devoted to her family. She was active in the life of the Church. Leah loved her Lord and she lived out her faith. Leah was a loyal friend to many. Leah genuinely cared about people and would go out of her way to reach out to others, even if they were complete strangers in a checkout line. She was always inviting new and old friends over for dinner and fellowship.

Born on March 24, 1957, in Fallon, NV. Leah was the oldest of three children born to Frederick and Clara Gessin (nee Ogozala). She attended and graduated from Oxnard High School, Oxnard, CA. She also graduated from California Lutheran College, Thousand Oaks, CA, and Fuller Theological Seminary, in Pasadena, CA. While attending school in Pasadena, Leah was blessed to meet and marry Martin Rich in 1983, where they had one son. Martin passed away in 1997. Leah was again blessed to meet and marry William Hedstrom in 2001, and they lived in Brea, CA. After William retired, the family moved to Tumwater, WA, in 2017.

Leah is preceded in death by her parents and her first husband. She is survived by her husband, William Hedstrom, and her son, Caleb Rich, both of Tumwater, WA; Her sisters, Cheryl (Patrick) Halligan of Olympia, WA, and Betty (Richard) Dunia of Clovis, CA. She had many nieces and nephews.

Tribute from Caleb:

The hole left in my heart at the passing of my mom is gaping. She has been a part of so much of my life. Each day that goes on, her absence is felt in new ways.

At first it didn’t seem real. When the paramedics took her, she was still teasing and joking around as they loaded her onto the gurney. When they told us she had bleeding on the brain, was unconscious, and needed emergency surgery to relieve the pressure, the sinking feeling was terrible. The thought that my precious mother was going through this seemed so wrong. When we got the call that the effort to relieve the pressure was not working and there was already too much damage to her brain and the blood vessels around her brain for any treatment to be effective, it didn’t seem real.

My mind reeled as I tried to grapple with this new reality. Why had this happened? It didn’t make sense. What had gone wrong? How could this be happening? I was expecting her to live another 30 years like her mother had done. I realized I hadn’t even said “goodbye” or “I love you” when the paramedics had taken her. When she had been taken, I had no idea it was so serious. I just wanted to hug her and tell her it would be okay.

The Covid-19 situation had prevented us from going with her to the ER or visiting her in the ICU. They finally made an allowance for me and my stepdad Bill to come and see her when it was clear she would not recover or regain consciousness. I am so thankful that they did. I cannot imagine the pain and frustration of those who are not allowed to see their loved ones one last time to say goodbye. Knowing that we were fortunate in that regard did not make the pain of seeing her in that state any less.

She was intubated. A section of her head had been shaved where they had drilled to place a drain to relieve the pressure on her brain. It had been stitched up after the drain had been removed. Her eyes were closed. At first, I was just in shock at how different she looked. It seemed perverse to see someone who had always been so full of life now unresponsive and being kept alive by machines. When the nurse left and we sat down, me on her left side and Bill on her right, we took her hands. Tears overwhelmed us both. It felt like a ton of bricks had been laid on my chest. To see my dear, sweet mother like this was devastating. It felt like a part of me was dying.

We spent a few hours talking to her, praying with her, singing hymns to her, reading scripture to her, and allowing friends and family to speak to her via video call. All the while holding her hands. When they extubated her we hugged and kissed her, wept, prayed, spoke to her, and sang more hymns. She held on for a couple of hours before she passed. It was the most painful thing I’ve ever experienced to see the life leave my wonderful, loving, caring, joyful, comforting, faithful, mother.

When my dad had died when I was 9 in was terrible. My dad had been fighting cancer for 10 years and his death was preceded by a gradual decline. For me at the time, it was sad, but it was not unexpected. In many ways the sadness had been spread out. I had known my father as a boy knows his father. Before the cancer came back, I had gone hiking & camping with him. He had helped coach my soccer team. He took me to the park. We played with a remote-control car he had gotten me. We made pillow forts together. But all that had gradually gone away as he had gotten sicker and sicker. When I was told he had died I wept. But I still had my mom.

My mom, who had spent the last few years being a nurse to her husband was now the single mother of a strong willed, stubborn 9-year-old. She had just lost her husband, but she did not collapse into despair. She was always there for me. She never stopped looking out for me and doing her best to raise me on her own. Though I was often difficult, she was patient, tender, and kind. When she remarried when I was 14, I was selfish in many ways, rebelling, speaking unkindly, and misbehaving. I know it grieved her heart to see me making bad choices. But she was ever patient and forgiving. She was a constant prayer warrior for me. She, more than anyone else in my life demonstrated the love of Christ. And when the Lord turned my life around in my first year of college, I know it brought her much relief and joy. Her prayers had been answered. There have been rough patches since then, one such being in 2018 when I moved up to Washington to live with her and Bill. I am tortured by the ways I know I still let her down. But the Lord is faithful and turned me back to Himself again in 2019.

I am glad things were going better when she passed. But remembering all the ways I hurt her over the years is one of the hardest parts of losing her. She always wanted grandkids and it breaks my heart that I couldn’t give them to her before she died. She said she was proud of me, but I know I let her down so many times. She was always concerned for what was best for me even when I didn’t want to hear it.

In many ways the pain of losing my mom is far worse than that of losing my dad. We went through much more together. She was a central part of my life much longer. Her death was so sudden and unexpected. She was a vital part of my life up until the day she passed.

The one thing that has been a comfort in all this is knowing that she is now with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. She is in a place without sin, without tears, or worry, or pain. She, who showed the love of Christ to all that knew her is now enjoying that perfect love without the limitations of our fallen world. She is now experiencing perfect peace and joy in the presence of God. We all long for the day when Christ returns. Then her soul will be united with a new body and we will all experience the new heavens and new earth. Never have I wanted more for that day to come quickly.

But until Christ returns or until I die, I know she would want me to live my life fully and unto the Lord. Her absence hurts so much, but I rejoice that she has gone on to her reward and is in the arms of her Lord.

Tribute to Alethea Leah - From Cheryl Halligan (Gessin) April 24, 2020 her sister

Beautiful Leah, my sister, heavens gates were wide open for this angel on earth. A soul who cared for others more than herself. She walked a life of service and devotion to her son, Caleb, Bill and her family and friends.

When I think of Leah, memories of us through decades of our lives, attending grade and high school together. We were also pregnant at the same time, I with my second daughter, Tammy. In our thirties we enjoyed raising our families together, holidays, birthdays and celebrations. In our forties, life took me to Washington, yet we managed to have special memories vacationing together. Leah adored simple pleasures, when we were living on a farm in Puyallup her second trip to Washington, she loved picking wild berries off the plants in my backyard. Baking was like creating a new masterpiece with food. She loved making those blackberry pies. That day with our mother, we harvested enough fresh berries to make 6 pies and still froze a boatload. She loved seeing the wild life and God’s canvas here in Washington.

My sister was a peace-maker, she saw the good in others, wanted the best for them, believed and prayed undauntedly. All who knew Leah, knew of her artistic abilities, yet she also had other talents, like amazing mechanical skills. She could take apart things and fix them, better and brighter than before. Many things I would throw out, but Leah, no way! She gave new meaning to repurposing. Leah was tenacious in getting involved in people’s day to day lives. Extending home and hearth to anyone in need. She was a great tutor to me in my early algebra freshman class. I sat next to her while she did her own homework, and I could count on her to help me with any questions, and there were many. My teacher remarked how well I did my homework showing all the steps neatly, in order and then inquired, “What happened on the tests?” Well, I replied, “My sister wasn’t next to me taking the test.” He smiled and oh how he had to hold back the laughter! Another fun tidbit, she could turn large carrots, a healthy snack my mother gave to her, all of us. Those humongous carrots, I wanted to feed it to Betty’s indoor rabbit, Mr. Charlie, rather than eating all of it, especially those bitter ends. But oh no, Leah also found another edible purpose for the horse carrot, she artistically designed totem poles with her teeth as she conscientiously did her Calculus homework – top of her class! Leah was quite the actress, she played as Queen, the leading female role in Shakespeare’s Hamlet her Senior year. Then again, she impressed her art teacher, Mr. Bonney. She received an invitation to work side by side and drew pastel portraits at the Esplanade, local mall in Oxnard. Indeed, another feather in her cap!

Leah loved meeting new people, she loved laughter, took pleasure in celebrating in personal successes and milestones in one’s life. She rejoiced with you, lifted your spirits, utterly compassionate and empathetic. She knew the gift of prayer and exercised her faith often in that way.

She knew how to see beyond flesh and blood, beyond rivers, mountains and landscapes, beyond the spoken or unspoken word. Leah felt deeply. It was only natural for her to produce an almost carbon copy rendition of nature as seen in her paintings and life drawings.She created out of nothing. She was also a sculptor, made a life-size sculpture for her final project in college and then donated to Chapel by the Sea, our church. Leah and I, (I was her apprentice) for a few years painted Christmas windows for local businesses earning Christmas money to give our mom. She was talented playing the guitar, self-taught learning to play a 12-string guitar and singing and writing songs.

Miss Leah was in a beauty pageant in high school, exceptional, beautiful and graceful. She was an amazing dancer, learned ballet and even got on toe shoes and learned those incredible chaine turns. Leah tried her earnest to teach me, but I had two left feet. I could still hear her say, “Cheryl it’s all about spotting,” She learned modern dance and could have easily joined a dance theatre group. And I, still working on moving with the beat so as not to humiliate myself on my first high school dance, she coached me enough somehow so I could be courageous to get on that dance floor and hold my head up high. Well, being the eldest, it was also her duty to teach me how to drive. The patience of a saint, I was learning on a stick-shift, VW Bug. Ah the 70ies! Leah rocked the bell-bottom scene, macramé belts and bandannas hand made of course. We were enterprising as well and even sold them. Her belts selling top dollar!

She loved to read and write, especially her bible. Have you seen a copy of one of her beautiful bibles? Colored coded, identified, and enumerated to precision and oh so artistically! I dare say, it might even put to shame any accomplished pastor. Well, then again, she should have been a pastor, she received a master’s degree in Theology at Fuller Seminary in Pasadena! And before that, changed her major from biology at Pacific Lutheran College to Art – graduating with honors, summa cum laude. She was one intelligent woman, multi-layered, and multi-talented!

My beloved sister, taken home selfishly way too soon. I had plans Leah, to paint with you, to co-write and illustrate children’s books, to travel. Perhaps, through Leah’s life, is to give us all a nudge, whispering in our ears: “No more excuses, get on with it, and live our lives with gusto, find your purpose, do well every day, find light in darkness.” Then again… if you knew our mother, Suzanne Clara, or Clara Regina, our mom loved to name change, I am thinking perhaps Jesus needed some assistance to keep our mother in line at the banquet table! Either way, I can’t wait to see Leah’s shining face and greeting me with her loving embrace on the other side.

Her last written words in my Easter card: “Though we are experiencing limitations, we are totally free to celebrate the gift of Life that Jesus had bought with His perfect Life ~ Blessings upon Blessings.”

To have known Leah was indeed to be blessed!

~Cheryl Halligan (Gessin) April 24, 2020