KATHLEEN LEONARD Obituary

LEONARD--Kathleen. Kathleen Livezey Leonard, age 86, died at home on July 19, 2025, at the Abbey Delray South retirement community in Delray Beach, FL. She was born in Oklahoma City, OK, on July 6, 1939, to Dr. William Edmund and Martha (Taylor) Livezey. Her father was a professor of history and served as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences from 1954 to 1965 at the University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK. She spent her early years in Norman, where she attended the University School and was a 1957 graduate of Norman High School. She received a B.A. in English Literature with honors in 1961 from Bryn Mawr College where she was President of the Interfaith Association. She earned an M.A. in English Literature from Yale University in 1962. She married William Lake Leonard in 1962, and her two children were born of that marriage. Although their marriage ended in divorce, they remained friends dedicated to their children and grandchildren. In 1982, she married David Yanis of Kings Point, NY. She was an editorial assistant for The Feminist Press in Old Westbury, NY, and was the public relations director for the North Shore Community Arts Center in Great Neck. She was a member of Career Services for Women in Long Island, a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting women returning to the workplace. In the 1980's, she was an administrator in the Public Affairs Department of McGraw Hill in New York City. She and David Yanis moved to Boca Raton, FL in 1996 where Kathy was a founding member and served for 24 years on the board of JAM & ALL Interfaith (Jewish and Muslims & All) that was organized shortly after 9/11. After David Yanis' death in 2000, she moved to Delray Beach, FL. It was at the retirement community where she met her partner, Kenneth J. Damian. She is survived by: her partner; her former husband, and her two children, William David Leonard and Elizabeth Leonard Schmidt (Paul); her two grandchildren, Eva Grace Leonard and Lucienne Elizabeth Leonard, and their mother, Dr. Judith Dougan; two sisters, Dr. Wilberta Donovan and Lorinda Livezey (Will Orvedal), and two nieces, Joanna D. Quattrucci (Albert) and Dawn D. Dulski (James). Her second husband, parents and sister, Elnora Beth Livezey, predeceased her. A Celebration of Life Service will be held on Sunday, August 24, 2025, from 1pm-4pm at Abbey Delray South.