Margaret A. Leeper

Margaret’s wonderful journey began on October 7, 1941, born to parents Bernice and Herbert Rose in humble surroundings on Kansas City’s West Side. There, she lived her formative years along with her brother, Robert, in a simple life, typical of the times of war and post-war America. She was so very proud of her family’s Cherokee heritage, her neighborhood and its rich history, the shared memories and strong ideas of community, experience and involvement. They greatly influenced her and developed into the pillars she built on throughout her life.

She attended The Cathedral of The Immaculate Conception School, where she participated in many activities, most notably softball and volleyball. Margaret next attended Our Lady of Perpetual Help Redemptorist High School where she again participated in many clubs, her favorite being the Glee Club, as she loved to sing. It was during these years, two of her life-long passions were sparked. From her own memory, when she was 15, the Parish priest and volleyball coach informed her that there were not enough girls to form a team at her grade level. He needed assistance with some of the other girl’s teams and asked a young Margaret if she would help coach. She gladly accepted and thus, her coaching life began.

After high school, Margaret found work as a secretary at Business Men’s Assurance, where her career spanned several decades. She was involved in her neighborhood, with her church and a CYO group. There, she met another mentor in that organization, John Leeper. They grew fond of each other, and a friendship eventually blossomed into a proposal of marriage and a start of her new chapter, as a wife and mother when John and she were married on May 2, 1964 at the Cathedral. Within the next 4 years, 3 sons were born, John Christopher, Michael Stephen and Brian Joseph. And with that, her true passions were, once again, redirected.

Her family settled in south Kansas City in the Waldo area and specifically in the Christ the King Parish. The boys and parents were heavily involved in activities that included scholastic endeavors, scouts and of course sports. There wasn’t a meeting, practice, teacher conference or game they missed. They viewed all these things as important building block for character and a sense of teamwork, pride and accomplishment. Margaret’s love of sports and desire to coach was reignited and she was fortunate to start again at CKS. She coached there for many years at various grade levels. Countless young girls learned the “Margaret Leeper” way of volleyball. She was so proud of all her teams, their accomplishments and the individual players during her career. She thought of all those girls as family. She truly loved each teammate for who they were and what they became after her time with them.

Margaret also coached for St. Thomas More, St. Elizabeth’s and was a proud ambassador for the Kansas City St. Joseph Parochial League. She always commented that one of her great achievements was not a successful season or championship but winning the Bob Hannah Christian Spirit Award. It meant so much more that her teams played with a directed passion, love of the game, good sportsmanship and dignity, whether winning or losing. Margaret was instrumental in the origins of the club volleyball scene in Kansas City and with boys volleyball at her beloved Christ the King and the parochial league. Her legacy and influence can be seen still, to this day, in the number of generational players and coaches in the KC volleyball community. Her life was her family and that includes her volleyball family. She spoke of you all even until her last breath.

Margaret gained many dear and lifelong friends in her journey. That pillar of her life never seemed to crumble. In fact, she would keep adding to it, helping to reinforce her belief in good people and their value to a rich and beautiful existence. She continued working at St. Joseph Hospital as an administrative assistant in the Volunteer Office. Her work there brought her great joy, with the diversity of people she worked with and their tireless capacity to love and serve the community.

Shortly before her retirement from St. Joseph, her health began to deteriorate. There are too many things to list as a specific cause, but know it was quite extensive, as Margaret didn’t “half-ass” anything! She often wished that she had the physical strength to continue coaching, traveling or going to an outing with friends. You were an important part of her life, and she cherished you, one and all.

Margaret is proceeded in death by her husband, John Calvin Leeper, her father, Herbert Joseph Rose, mother Galelah Bernice Rose and brother, Robert J. Rose. She is survived by her sons, J. Christopher Leeper (Donna) of Olathe, KS, Michael S. Leeper (Molly Ticknor) of Lee’s Summit, MO and Brian J. Leeper of Kansas City, MO, her most cherished grandchildren Megan Leeper and Ryan Leeper (Rachael) and great grandson Barrett Leeper, and a host of extended family on both the Rose and Leeper sides of the court.

A visitation for Margaret will be held on Sunday, March 13 from 2pm-5pm at McGilley State Line Chapel, 12301 State Line Road, Kansas City, MO 64145. The Rosary will be prayed at 2pm. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Monday, March 14 at 10am at St. Elizabeth Catholic Church, 2 East 75th Street, Kansas City, MO 64114. All are welcome to attend.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggest donations be made to KC Hospice http://www.kchospice.org/donation/ or Catholic Charities KC http://catholiccharities-kcsj.org/donate/