Ina Leach McLaren

Ina Mae Leach was born June 29, 1920 in Dallas, Texas, a city in which she resided most of her life. She attended public schools in Dallas, graduated from North Dallas High School and then attended Texas Tech University. A child of the Great Depression, World War II brought dramatic changes to her life. She married Airman Peter McLaren in 1942 and they moved throughout the country while serving in the military.

Two sons were born to Pete and Ina and they eventually settled back in Dallas. She was an exemplary homemaker, energetic, fastidious, tireless, and devoted to family. She was a master of culinary arts, sewing, needlepoint, quilting, gardening, flower arranging and similar artisanal skills. The McLarens enjoyed a rich social life and a wide circle of friends in the spirited and optimistic era of the 50’s and 60’s.

After her sons left for college Ina quickly earned an associate’s degree in nutrition. She then returned to the workforce, briefly at Baylor Hospital and then as a specialist in the dietary needs of those afflicted with food allergies.

After the passing of her husband in 1994, she moved to the Texas Hill Country to be closer to her family members. She was a remarkably sturdy woman with a quick, occasionally sharp, sense of humor and irony. She passed on not from illness but simply the accumulation of age. All she touched will remember her fondly.

Parents, Allen and Ruth Leach, brother, Allen Leach and beloved sister-in-law Beth Leach predeceased Ina McLaren. Ina is survived by her son, John McLaren and wife Suzanne, son, James McLaren and wife Norah Hughes, and two grandsons, Ross McLaren and Thomas McLaren, all of Austin.

Mrs. McLaren will be laid to rest at Restland Cemetery in Dallas at 1:00pm, December 30, 3015.