Obituary of Inez Leeth

September 29, 1923 - October 15, 2017

Inez Leeth.  Age 94 of Southgate.  Beloved wife of the late James Everett Leeth.  Loving mother of Thelma Golden, James Leeth, Sandra (Edward) Zielke, Marilyn (Charles) Lowe and Bill (Carol) Leeth.  Dearest grandmother of 7.  Great grandmother of 13.  Dear sister of Alma Haupt.  Preceded in death by siblings Doris and Gary.

FAMILY TRIBUTE

Inez Hibma was born to John and Alma Hibma on September 29, 1923 on a farm in Park Lake, Michigan. She had two sisters, Alma and Doris, and one brother, Gary.

Some time after graduating from high school she and sister Alma moved to Detroit and lived in a boarding house. This is where she met the love of her life, James Leeth. They were married in 1943 and had a long and happy marriage of 68 years. James loved Inez so much; he called her "Sweetie" or "Sugar Babe". Sadly, James passed on September 2, 2011.

James and Inez had five "wonderful" children: Thelma, James, Sandra (and husband Ed), Marilyn (and husband Chuck), and Bill (and wife Carol); seven grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren.

She was the best “stay-at-home” mom ever!

Inez excelled at needlepoint, knitting & crocheting until she lost most of her sight. This was sad for her; the afghans are treasured and are reminders of her skill. After all the household chores were done, she also enjoyed bowling, bike riding, garage sales, and exercise.

Sandy tried to keep up with her going on long bike rides and joined her at exercise classes. Nobody could keep up with her. She seemed tireless and enjoyed staying busy. 

Family gatherings were not a big deal for Inez to prepare. She was an excellent cook and baker and prepared delicious Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter dinners by herself well into her 80's. At Christmas time she had big coolers filled with home made holiday cookies.

 When Inez could no longer tackle holiday dinners, Thelma tried to step in and host family celebrations with some of Mom's tried and true recipes. Mom had a sweet tooth and loved it when Thelma would bring home made treats. Her favorite were Halloween cupcakes with plastic spider rings on top. She would wear the rings so she could "scare" people; and she would giggle so hard.

Marilyn has Mom's cooking skills and would often bring over home cooked meals on Mondays for "Family Dinners". Mom's favorite was chicken and dumplings.

In 1994 when Bill bought the "farm", Inez became energized, spending most weekends there as Bill's "right-hand man", always preparing "to go" meals and, of course, cookies. Many of the trees at the farm were planted by Mom (We are talking thousands of trees!) The beauty that Mom helped create will live on.

Inez took such good care of Jim when he had cancer.  When she became ill, Jim took care of her as lovingly as she did for him. 

We all love her and will miss her.