Video Tribute

Rhoda Victoria (Almquist) Leavitt, age 97, of Clayton, New Mexico died Saturday, January 12, 2019 in Lubbock, Texas.

Memorial services were held at 2:00 P.M. on Tuesday, January 15th at the First United Methodist Church in Clayton, New Mexico with Rev. Kenneth W. Tidmore and Rev. Ran Loy officiating.

Rhoda was born March 29, 1921 to Bessie Luella Anderson Almquist and Victor Emmanuel Almquist in Phelps County Nebraska, three miles northwest of the tiny town called Funk. She was the second of five children. As a very young girl growing up in rural Nebraska, she wanted nothing more than to go to school. In the fall of 1926, her dream was realized as she began attending the first grade at District 52. That year marked the beginning of 25 consecutive years when she would start school in the fall, both as a student and a teacher. Along the way, she graduated as valedictorian of her high school class in Wilcox, Nebraska in 1938. She then did double time teaching at rural schools in Kearney County, Paxton and Sidney, Nebraska, while also attending classes at Kearney State Teacher's College. In 1949, she graduated from Colorado State College of Education at Greeley with a major in elementary education and minors in English, social science, science, and art before moving to Denver, Colorado where she taught for two additional years.

While living and teaching in Denver she met her future husband, Elton Jay Leavitt, at a dance at the YWCA in January of 1951. They were married on March 24th of that year and moved to Clayton, New Mexico that summer. They bought a ranch six miles south of town in 1952 where they raised their family and were active members of the Union County community. Jay and Rhoda were instrumental in the building of the current First United Methodist Church in Clayton and Rhoda served as a Sunday school teacher for many years. She kept the books for Jay's building business and was active in local organizations including the Clayton Arts Council, P.E.O. and the FOCUS program, while also serving as a tutor and a substitute teacher.

She had an adventurous spirit and was always ready to learn something new. During the wartime years when she taught in the rural schools in Nebraska, she spent summers taking correspondence classes while also working jobs ranging from making corsages at a friend's floral shop to inspecting aircraft at the Curtiss Wright Aircraft Factory and making bombs at the Schwader plant in Denver where they normally made Samsonite luggage. Later in life, she continued to seek opportunities to learn by taking creative writing classes and attending watercolor workshops.

Rhoda was a published author, a prolific poet, and an artist whose works in watercolor and clay are treasured by friends and family. She was a loving mother and grandmother with an infectious giggle and a witty sense of humor.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Elton Jay Leavitt, and by her siblings, Wanda Elaine Almquist Wilcox, Earl Victor Almquist, Lee August Almquist, and Wayne Elroy Almquist.

SURVIVORS:

2 DAUGHTERS: Daphne Sowers and her husband Larry of Lubbock, Texas and Jill Swagerty and her husband Tom of Clayton, New Mexico.

5 GRANDCHILDREN: Suzanne Driskill (Cory) of Houston, Texas, Kelly Jones (Ronda) of Canyon, Texas, Lara Flores (Brandon Tidmore) of Lubbock, Texas, Joshua Jones (Carmen) of Hereford, Texas, and Micah Jones of Amarillo, Texas.

9 GREAT-GRANDCHILDREN: Lleyton, Trenton and Ashton Flores, Raley and Kelton Jones, Laney and Zachary Driskill, and Kip Jones and baby sister due in March.

2 SISTERS-IN-LAW: Grace Almquist of Phoenix, Arizona and Fay Bossier of Flagstaff, Arizona.

The family would also like to recognize and thank the host of caregivers in Lubbock, Texas who cared for and loved her like family in recent years.

MEMORIALS: In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials be made to First United Methodist Church or Union County General Hospital in Clayton.