Born: January 20, 1905
Died: July 26, 2002
Married: Frank Leamer
Children: Vivian Leamer Bevis, Richard James Leamer
Chiefly known for:
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, July 26, 2002
Mildred Torbert Leamer
VANCOUVER - Mildred Torbert Leamer, 97, longtime summer resident of Saranac Lake, died on April 13, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Mrs. Leamer, widow of Frank D. Leamer, had resided in Canada near her daughter Vivian Bevis, since the death of her husband in 1991. Before moving to Vancouver, Frank and Mildred Leamer had their winter home in Sun City, Ariz.
Mrs. Leamer had a long and interesting life. She was born Jan. 20, 1905 on a farm in Spencer, Iowa, where her grandfathers had been pioneers and farmers. She attended a one room schoolhouse, and then drove a horse and buggy to attend a regional high school, graduating at age 16. She was a graduate of Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, where she met her husband Frank, also a graduate. After their marriage in 1928, they moved to Oregon, spending the summer on Devil's Peak near Mt. Hood tending a fire lookout tower before settling in at Willamette University where Frank taught physics.
Later they moved to New Jersey where Frank was employed by Bell Telephone Laboratories, and their children were born and raised. Mildred was an active member of the Summit Methodist Church, a Republican committeewoman, a member of the Summit Fortnightly Women's Club, as well as being active in Girl Scouting. She was also an artist and craftswoman, expert in copper enameling, and an accomplished seamstress.
Through a fellow Bell Labs friend, Joseph Harley, Frank Leamer brought his family to camp on Bluff Island in the 1930s, and this tradition continued until the Leamers purchased their camp, Breezy Point, on Lower Saranac Lake in 1958. Breezy Point has been the gathering place every summer since then for the Leamer children and grandchildren and many local friends.
Mrs. Leamer continued her early morning 1/4-mile swim in the lake until she was 90, and spent every summer here through the summer of 2000. The Leamers celebrated both their 50th and 60th wedding anniversaries here at the lake at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Robert North. They were active supporters of the Village Improvement Society, the Saranac Lake Free Library and Historic Saranac Lake, as well as Trudeau Institute. The family requests that contributions in memory of Mrs. Leamer be made to any of the above organizations.
Mrs. Leamer is survived by her daughter Vivian Leamer Bevis, her husband Richard Wade Bevis, and their daughter Linda Bevis and her husband Edward Mast; one son, Richard James Leamer, his wife Barbara Redden Leamer and their children: Karen Leamer, husband Robert Kumagai, children Abigail and Sam; Gail Leamer Strassel, husband Curtis P. Strassel, children Maggie, Annie and Mary Kate; and Jeffrey David Leamer; wife Eva Novotny Leamer, children Eliska, and Anthony. A private memorial and celebration of the life of Mildred T, Leamer was held for family and close friends on Sunday, July 21.
