Leanne Marie (Farnsworth) Neuman, 64
Leanne Marie (Farnsworth) Neuman, 64
Leanne Marie (Farnsworth) Neuman, 64 years old, passed away at her home in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, on Nov. 1, 2016. She was also known as Lenny, Mom and Nana.
Leanne was born and raised in Lawrence, Mass. Over the years, she called many places home, including Hampton, Conn., College Station, Texas, San Diego, Calif., and Coeur d’Alene.
She was an accomplished self-taught chef who was the executive or sous chef at many places over the years such as Fish Richards, The Golden Door, La Vida Del Mar and Hospice of North Idaho. She started a food co-op in Hampton in the early 1970s, believing in healthy, nutritional, organic living years before it became mainstream. Later, she put her own career on hold to raise her children and help with her grandchildren. Wanting a second career that would allow her more flexibility, she taught herself Photoshop, Dreamweaver, and other programs to build a Web design business. She loved meeting and working with her small business owner clients, and brought the same creative spirit to Web design that she brought to her cooking. She always added that “special something” to everything she did.
At 23 and while pregnant with twins and mother to a toddler, she lost her own mother to breast cancer after nursing her through the struggle. A few years ago, she became a breast cancer survivor herself. She did not have an easy life, but as her email signature quoted, she believed that “Life can only be understood backwards: It has to be lived forwards.” She was a spiritual person and felt that everything happened for a reason.
Leanne loved cooking, gardening, reading, quilting, volunteering at the food bank, being with her beloved dog, Chloe, and, most of all, spending time with her children and grandchildren. After having grandchildren, she became Nana to almost everyone. She was a nurturer who loved taking care of people.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Durward A. Farnsworth and Edith L. (Helleland) Farnsworth; and her sister, Glyneta Hammon.
Leanne is survived by her daughter and son-in law, Tara and Marc Runyan in Oakland; daughter and son-in-law Laurel and Devon Handley in San Diego; daughter and son-in-law Emily and Rob Clark in Coeur d’Alene; grandchildren Jacob, Riley, Julia, Olivia, Tristan, Hunter and Emma Leanne; brother Elliot Farnsworth; sister and brother-in-law Roberta and Patrick Korch; as well as family and friends across the country.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 13, 2016, at Bell Tower Funeral Home, 3398 E. Jenalan Ave., Post Falls, Idaho. Please share your thoughts and memories of Leanne in her online memorial at www.belltowerfuneralhome.com.