Leslie M. (Pruitt) Ward, 61, of Lee’s Summit, Missouri died Sunday, April 14, 2019 at her home with her family and beloved Border Terrier dogs. Leslie was born in St. Joseph, Missouri on July 17, 1957, the daughter of Robert “Bob” and Helen (Killgore) Pruitt. In 1978 Leslie met Dan Ward in Columbia, Missouri where they both studied at the University of Missouri. In 1979-80 Leslie attended catechumenate classes with Fr. Mike Clary at St. Regis Catholic Church. On October 11, 1980, Fr. Clary celebrated the marriage of Leslie and Dan at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Raytown, MO. Leslie is pre-deceased by her father, Bob Pruitt, her brother, Todd Pruitt, and her son, Nathan Ward. Leslie is survived by her husband, Dan Ward, their son and his wife, Nick and Krista (Vehlewald) Ward, her mother, Helen Pruitt, mother-in-law Dolores “Dee” (Dreier) Ward, sister-in-law Leslie (Stanley) Pruitt, niece Sarah Pruitt, and many other in-laws, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Leslie worked in banking operations at Mercantile Bank and Superior National Bank in Kansas City, Missouri for her first career before staying home to raise two sons. Leslie was a dedicated mother shuttling the boys to one or more extracurricular activities year-round. She also became Team Mom for the Boy’s Swim Team and Boy’s Cross Country Team at Lee’s Summit North High School, which involved feeding large quantities of pasta to the teams, and bringing drinks, snacks, and treats to every meet, so the athletes would have calories to burn. Leslie served Meals on Wheels in Lee’s Summit, Missouri for 10 years with her mother, Helen Pruitt. Her third career was teaching in the Life Skills class in the Lee’s Summit School District. Leslie had the gift of gentle, firm love with her students which served her well for children with special needs.
Leslie bred, raised, trained, and showed Border Terriers for 24 years, which became a loving pastime for her family and many friends. For example, on January 1, 2005, Leslie’s work with Ch. Danby’s Tyneside Haleigh TDX, JE earned the Versatility Award. This included the title of Tracking Dog Excellent (TDX) which was only the seventh (7th) Border Terrier in the United States achieve that title. Through nine (9) litters of puppies she created an extended Border Terrier family. Each year she receives Christmas cards and greetings from families including photos our Border Terriers from all over the country.
Services: Tuesday, April 23, 2019 at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, 1800 MO-150, Lee's Summit, MO 64082, 7:00 PM Rosary, 7:30 PM Gathering for family and friends; Wednesday, April 24, 2019 at Our Lady of the Presentation Catholic Church, 130 NW Murray Road, Lee’s Summit, Missouri 64081, 10 AM Funeral Mass followed by Visitation and Luncheon. All services are open to the public.
In lieu of flowers please donate to the Lustgarten Foundation where 100% of your donation funds pancreatic cancer research. The link is https://events.lustgarten.org/LeslieWard. Peace, and may God bless all those who knew and loved Leslie.
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