Leila Jane Deagan

Mrs. Leila Jane Deagan, age 91, died surrounded by her family in Woodbridge, Virginia on Monday, 25 April 2022.  She was preceded in death by her husband of 67 years, Joseph William Deagan; her sister and brother-in-law, Carl and Celia Ryser, of Salem; and her son-in-law Douglas Hamling, of Columbus.  The daughter of Charles and Anna (Cranz) Oertel, Leila was born in Cuyahoga Falls and grew up in Salem, Ohio.  She graduated from Salem High School in 1948 and was the Head Cheerleader during her senior year.  She graduated as the 1,000th graduate from Akron City Hospital's School of Nursing with a degree in nursing, and worked over 40 years as a registered nurse, working in various nursing capacities in Akron, Salem and Minerva.

Leila married Joseph, her high school sweetheart, on 12 August 1953.  Joseph and Leila moved to Minerva in 1957 and were proud Minervians for over 63 years. She was a life-long member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).  Leila was an avid golfer and a member of Minerva's Edgewater Golf Club, and was inducted into the Edgewater Golf Hall Of Fame.  She was an active member of Saint Gabriel's Catholic Church in Minerva, where she served as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion.  Leila was mother to Barbara Ann (Douglas Hamling) of Westerville, Ohio; Joan Marie (Colonel David Wolf) of Woodbridge, Virginia; and Lieutenant Colonel William Joseph (Shelley Parks) of O'Fallon, Illinois.  She was a proud grandmother to Ashley Nicole Smith (Herb) of Huntsville, Alabama; Kateri Lee Thomas (Brandon) of Westerville, Ohio, and Joseph William Deagan and Ryan Lawrence Deagan, of O'Fallon, Illinois, as well as great-grandmother to Grace Aleen Little, James Michael Smith, Hayden Ivory Leah Thomas, Harlyn Floria Leila Thomas and Brandin Douglas Daunovan Thomas.

A Mass of the Christian Burial will be Saturday, 21 May 2022 at 10:30 AM with Father Victor Cinson as celebrant.  Burial will be in East Lawn Cemetery.  Calling hours will be held at Gotschall-Hutchison Funeral Home, in Minerva, on Friday, 20 May 2022 from 6-8 PM where DAR services will be at 6:45 pm.