After 96 years, the indefatigable Leba Grodinsky – avid gardener, skilled cook, enthusiastic craftswoman, wonderful hostess, keen reader, constantly endeavoring speaker of French, lover of crossword puzzles, skater, skier, occupational therapist, and so much more – finally got tired. She died on March 31, a beautiful spring day, in her home in Montpelier, Vermont, with two of her daughters holding her hands.

Leba Pesner was born in Montreal, Canada, the daughter of Freda and Adolph Pesner, and one of four siblings. She grew up on Pagnuelo Street in Outremont. She remained proud of that street, of her Canadian heritage, of her alma mater (McGill) to the end, always remaining close to her dear childhood friends and returning to Canada often.

After university, Leba moved to Philadelphia to study to be an OT at the University of Pennsylvania. She met Bob in Philadelphia – his hometown. They married in 1954, and until his death in 2019, they shared senses of humor, extremely strong wills, and deeply ethical characters.

They also shared four daughters, whom they raised in the home they bought in Elkins Park, a Philadelphia suburb, in the late 1950s and lived in for 50 years. Leba kept a beautiful house (with some help!) and planted a beautiful garden; later in life, she volunteered for 25 years at the Morris Arboretum. Until the last year of her life, she kept her bureau drawers in perfect order and every morning made her bed to exacting standards.

Leba was deeply hospitable. She loved to entertain and held fabulous parties. She had a wide and ever-expanding circle of friends. If someone didn't have a place to go for Passover or for Thanksgiving, he'd always find a welcome at the Grodinsky table. Leba was an enthusiastic cook, a skill she picked up after she married, cooking with gusto and a sense of adventure. It's

not surprising that all her daughters love to cook.

Leba encouraged and entered into her daughters' enthusiasms, spending a good two decades tirelessly driving small girls to music lessons, dance lessons, horse-back riding lessons, skating lessons, dollhouse conventions, summer camps, and more. She helped lead her daughters' girl scout troop, and she sewed for us, too, including Halloween costumes and - most notably - four matching pink maxi dresses to wear to our aunt's wedding.

For decades, she and Bob had season tickets to the Opera Company of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Leba, who had a spectacular figure and a great sense of style, never looked more glamorous than when she donned her sweeping black velvet cape and headed out the door to hear classical music.

Despite being married to a man who preferred Elkins Park to all other places, Leba liked to travel. If Bob didn't want to go, she found someone else, traveling over the decades with her daughters, her two beloved sisters, her dear friends, and, eventually, her grandchildren. Her trips spanned England, France (she was fascinated by Paris in the 1920s and read many books

about the period), Nova Scotia, Florida, the Galapagos, Greece (that last one with Bob), and many other spots. She always sent her children neatly written postcards from her trips, kept diaries of her travels, and once home, produced meticulous photo albums.

But while she liked to roam, for some 30 summers, she returned to one of her very favorite places – Vergennes, Vermont. There, she and Bob rented a camp on Lake Champlain that was, for decades, the focal point for friends and family – especially the Canadian aunts, uncles, and cousins. Leba was the hostess with the mostest in Vergennes and was famous for her nightly

happy hours in the gazebo with visiting guests and a kir royale. In quieter times in Vergennes, she canoed and kayaked, swam side stroke in the lake, bird-watched, picked blueberries and made jam, checked out the Basin Harbor flower gardens, and enjoyed shopping in Middlebury.

For some 15 years, Leba struggled with dementia. It was heartbreaking to watch her decline, and yet Leba never forgot her four daughters or her sisters or her interest and pleasure in everybody around her, as well as the cats and dogs she met and loved in her later years. She had a good long run and set an example for her daughters of a life well-lived. The name "Leba"

is Yiddish for "beloved," and she was.

In her last year, the truly wonderful staff at the wonderful Gary Residence in Montpelier,  Vermont made her life comfortable, interesting, and happy. Special thanks to them. Also to Hospice of Central Vermont, whose help in the last few weeks of Leba's life is greatly appreciated, to her aides at Atria in New York – Bea and Lenoris - and mostly to Leslie, Ray and Carolyn, who bore the brunt of caring for Leba in the final years of her life.

She is survived by her four daughters, Susan Shor of Oak Ridge, TN, and her husband Joel; Leslie Kimmelman of Ardsley, NY, and her husband Ray; Carolyn Grodinsky of Montpelier, VT; and Peggy Grodinsky of Portland, ME, and her partner Joe; her grandchildren, Natalie Maroni and Greg Kimmelman, and Alex and Emily Shor; three great-grandchildren, Julian Maroni and

Poppy and Robert Gong-Shor; her two sisters, Elsa Waldman of Ottawa, Ontario, and Joan Kadonoff of Mclean, Virginia; her sister-in-law Mimi Grodinsky and her husband Dale; and many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her husband of 65 years, Bob Grodinsky, and her older brother, Hershel Pesner, of Montreal, Quebec.

Donations may be made to Lake Champlain Land Trust or Central Vermont Home Health and

Hospice.