Obituary of Leslie Ann Geyer

Obituary Leslie Geyer passed away peacefully in her sleep on May 18th, with her son and daughter near, just after midnight. She always was a night owl. Leslie was born in Sumatra Indonesia, where her father, Lester Geyer managed the Goodyear rubber export/import to the US. They escaped before the war broke out and moved back to the US where her mother, Jessie Geyer bought a lemon ranch in Carpenteria, CA. A few years later they built a house and settled in Carmel, CA where she was a worthy advisor of the Rainbow Girls, Junior class president and graduated from Carmel high. Leslie attended USC where she met the love of her life, Gerry Mowat, earned a BA and later 2 MA’s. They lived in Alhambra, CA, where she taught high school English literature and had 2 children, Tracy and Charlie. She was director of Indian Maidens, an organization made up of 220 mothers and daughters. She was president of Presidents Circle (1000 members) where she organized 60+ fundraisers and events including a 450 person black tie dinner to benefit USC. She was selected Outstanding Young Woman of America, a national honor and a PEO member. Leslie and Gerry accumulated rental properties, which they later sold and moved to Palos Verdes, CA. While living in PV, she was involved in National Charity League, another mother/ daughter organization, and worked at Volt Technical as a purchasing manager. She later moved to Santa Barbara, CA where she hosted numerous charitable and social events and was leader of the Santa Barbara Yacht club’s team Shebop. She worked at Hughes Aircraft Santa Barbara research as a Buyer of high reliability materials for their spacecraft payloads, a training coordinator training others how to buy, and an HR retirement benefits counselor. She was enthusiastic about the Symphony and the arts, particularly Oriental Arts and she was Chairman of the Board for Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic. After returning to Carmel, consistent with her lifelong goal of learning something new every day, she entered the digital age and was Director of the Library Media Center at Salinas High. She was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma, a national honorary teaching association. Leslie was a fierce advocate for the vulnerable and was actively involved with Legal Services for Seniors, Coalition for Homeless Women, and American Red Cross Disaster Relief. She was twice the head of 210 volunteers at the ATT Golf Tournament and was very proud of her Membership in the National Society for Colonial Dames. Her 12Xgeneration grandfather John Clowes served two terms in the Pennsylvania Legislature in the 1630’s. Leslie had a big heart and her mission was always giving back through service, to whatever community she lived in. Leslie received the 2015 United Way Lifetime of Service Award, their highest honor; 2014 Junior League Community Impact Award, their highest award; and the 2013 Monterey County Outstanding Woman of the Year. Leslie was an avid world traveler with 5 trips across the US by car, 9 trips to Europe, 4 trips to Asia, including six weeks in India by herself. She traveled to Africa and Australia and participated in several Medical/ Humanitarian missions to Haiti, Guatemala, Honduras, and Russia. She instilled her strong sense of family, faith in God and love of travel to her children and grandchildren. She was often quoted as saying “When the family was all together and we loved each other”. She was involved in more groups than are able to be mentioned. More than all the work she did though, she was a good friend with a bold, infectious laugh, who loved a good party, had a great sense of humor and always saw the best in people. She had a way of connecting with people and finding common ground. She had the heart of a lifelong learner and of a mentor to other women. Everything she did, she did with excellence, always striving, with her enormous capacity to make things better. She will be dearly missed by all who knew her. She is survived by her two children, Tracy (an ultrasound technician) and Charlie (a pilot for United Airlines); three grandchildren and four great grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Monterey County Fund for Homeless Women at www.cfmco.org/FHW or via check mailed to Community Foundation for Monterey County 2354 Garden Road Monterey, CA 93940. At her request, cremation services were provided by Bermudez Family Cremation & Funerals of Monterey. Ashes will be released at a later date. Our dear Mom, GML (grandma Leslie), GGMa (Great grandma) is in her heavenly home where there are no more tears, sorrow or pain. She lived her life well and we would love to hear your uplifting stories and fond memories of this remarkable lady. They can be written at Bermudezfamilyfunerals.com for family and others to enjoy. Blessings to you. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Leslie Ann Geyer, please visit our floral store.