Phyllis Altman Leeking

Phyllis Altman Leeking, 88, died April 15, 2011, at a nursing home in Tarzana, California. Phyllis was born January 3, 1923, near Bryan, Ohio, and was the second of Phillip and Ruth Altman’s six children. She graduated from Bryan High School as an honor roll student in 1940. During World War II she worked for General Motors in the Fisher Body Division, Cleveland, Ohio. She was trained as a riveter and build B-29 bomber engine housings on the assembly line. In January 1945, she started as a college student at Ohio State University, from which she graduated in December 1947 with a B.S. degree, summa cum laude. In April 1949, Phyllis completed a graduate internship program at Saint Luke’s Hospital in Cleveland to earn her credentials as a Registered Dietitian. She then worked at the University of Chicago Lying-in Hospital. In 1953 she began graduate school at Cornell and completed her studies and Master’s thesis in June of 1955 when she received her M.S. degree. While at Cornell, she met Avon (Von) Leeking, an engineer working at a General Electric laboratory in Ithaca, New York. They married June 11, 1955, and moved to Los Angeles, California, in February 1956. Phyllis was preceded in death by her parents and two sisters, Mary Seslar and Helen Horner. She is survived by her husband, Von Leeking, one son, David, and two daughters, Jennifer and Mary, all of California; her sister, Doris Kovak, of Surfside Beach, South Carolina; brothers, John Altman, of Bryan, Ohio, and Arthur Altman, of Charleston, West Virginia. A memorial service was held on Monday, May 2, at Woodland Hills Community Church, Woodland Hills, California. In keeping with her wishes, Phyllis’ ashes will be interred at Brown Cemetery, Bryan, Ohio, May 21, 2011, at 10:30 A.M. A grave side service will be conducted by Krill Funeral Service with Pastor Larry Snavely officiating.