Margaret (Kimpel) Leddick

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Leddick, Margaret (Kimpel) Age 86, died at her home in Lacey, WA, on June 24, 2010, after a brief illness. Born in Detroit Lakes, Margaret grew up in south Minneapolis, captivated by music. She graduated from Washburn High School, attended the University of Minnesota, and was a member of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority. She married Navy Ensign Nels A. Gunderson III, in April 1946 in Minneapolis, and embarked on years of travel across the United States as a Navy wife. Widowed in 1956 after Lt. Gunderson was lost at sea in a plane crash, Margaret remarried Navy Lt. Roth S. ("Mike") Leddick, with whom she shared almost 50 years of marriage. Margaret gained her bachelor's degree from the University of Hawaii in elementary education and added credentials as a school librarian; she taught in Virginia and Louisiana schools. After relocating to the Twin Cities in 1973 at the close of the Navy years, Margaret resumed an almost lifelong membership at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. She entered docent training programs first at the Walker Art Center, then at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and retained a vivid interest in the fine art and educational goals of these institutions. From an early age, Margaret thrived on vocal music; she performed with church choirs and sang in musical productions, especially enjoying sacred music, opera, and light opera. Margaret drew happy years during times with Mike at their cabin on Lower Cullen Lake, near Nisswa, and in Sun City West, AZ, where they were active members at Lord of Life Lutheran Church. Margaret enjoyed and retained the friendship of many people she met as school classmates, and through the Navy tours of duty, her church memberships, and participation in volunteer work and docent groups. She was a woman who did not sit still for long; she possessed an energy and zest for activity and exploration right to her final weeks. She was preceded in death by her parents, Lillian and Gerhardt Kimpel, her brother, Harold Kimpel, and her husbands, Nels Gunderson and Mike Leddick. She is survived by three children: Kristin Ritts of Sanibel, FL; Nick Gunderson of Seattle, WA; and Lisa Smith of Olympia, WA; three stepchildren: Jack Leddick of Bozeman, MT; Matt Leddick of Santa Barbara, CA; and Sarah Leddick of San Diego, CA; and grandchildren in Washington, Oregon, California, Montana, Texas, and Bangkok, Thailand. She is also survived by her godsons: Brian Knutson of Bloomington, MN, and Scott Glover of St. Louis Park, MN. Private interment at Lakewood Cemetery. Memorials to the Music Department, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Minneapolis. GILL BROTHERS Southwest Minneapolis 612-861-6088

Published on July 18, 2010