Johnnie Mae Hanks

Notes:

HAMILTON - Johnnie Mae Leonard, 95, died peacefully at home Jan. 10, 2012. Born Jonamae Hanks on May 2, 1916 in Lawton, Okla. to Medreth Elberta Vaughan and Alvin Roscoe Hanks, she was the second of eight children. She often told of how she and her older sister, Grace, had to care for the younger children. "I guess it gave us good practice," she said.

She married Curtiss Jaquess in 1934 and in 1935 bore a lovely curly-haired daughter, Flo Lorene. That marriage did not last, and in 1936 she married her first love, Richard Grafton Leonard of Savanna, Okla., a soldier at Fort Sill. A son, Patrick Richard, was born in 1937 and another daughter, Jan Christine, in 1941. The family was stationed around the South, and then in Panama where Jan was tragically killed shortly before her sixth birthday. Johnnie Mae carried that sorrow the rest of her life. Another son, Tony Mack, was born in 1948.

In 1949 the family left Panama for Montana. Based first in Great Falls, then Missoula, Rich and Johnnie Mae came to love Montana. They bought an old cabin near Fort Fizzle just west of Lolo and lived there, raising chickens, bees, and a few cows, delicious strawberries and a large garden. While in Lolo, Johnnie Mae bought a rug loom and began to weave wool rag rugs. She carpeted the house. Though she had started her first quilt at 15, it wasn't until Great Falls that she began to quilt in earnest. Her beloved Grandma Annie sent quilt tops and Johnnie Mae made warm quilts for the cold Montana winters. In the ensuing years she made more than 150 quilts, all "hand-did." Many of us sleep under her warm, durable works of art and love and enjoy walking on warm wool rugs.

After Rich retired from the Air Force, and went to work for the Forest Service, he, Johnnie Mae and Tony moved to Hamilton. They built a house in 1965, and there Johnnie Mae lived until she died. She loved the views from her windows. In later years, she'd look out and say, "I look out at the green trees, blue sky, white clouds and the mountains and I think, Sure beats Oklahoma!" After Rich died in 1977 Johnnie Mae continued on. She traveled with her sisters and their husbands some, but mostly she stayed home reading, quilting, making rugs, and enjoying friendships. Always stubborn, intelligent, talented and hard-working, Johnnie Mae had a great laugh. The Hanks girls loved to laugh, and when they got together the joy was contagious. Sadly, in later years, dementia took hold. "My memory glands are drying up fast," she'd say. With the help and support of family, she was able to stay in her own home, as she had wished.

She is predeceased by her parents, her husband, daughter Jan Christine; sisters Annabelle Lewis and Georgia Dyer; brothers Teddy Warren Hanks and Del Dexter Hanks, and most of her friends. She is survived by sisters Grace Linville of California, Nadine Swindells (Mel) Kentucky, and Nancy Hale of Oklahoma. Also by daughter Lorene Hunter (Larry) of Oregon; sons Patrick Leonard (Toddy Perryman) of Corvallis, and Tony Leonard (Jill) of Utah. Grandchildren are Chris Kashmir-Green (Dennis Green) of Oregon, Eve Dixon (Charlie), of Kalispell, Matt Leonard (Cheryl) of Idaho, Morna Leonard of Hamilton, Marcus Leonard (Robin Brown) of Washington, and Tyson Robinson of Alaska. Great-grandchildren are Lisa Owens (Mark) and Jamie Bevandich (Kari), Alix and Kyle Dixon, Nathan and Pieter Leonard, and Brendan Leonard. Great-great-grandchildren are Taylor, Caden, and Jarod Bevandich. She is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews and by long-time friends Colleen Powell and Nadine Mackey of Hamilton and Olive Shuck of Glendive. The family would like to thank the excellent caregivers who helped Johnnie Mae in her last months.

A gathering and celebration of Johnnie Mae's life will be held in Hamilton in May.