Leah G. Ashe McBride Puckett

Leah G. Puckett

Leah G. Ashe McBride Puckett passed away peacefully April 10, 2016 at the age of 91. She was born January 20, 1925 in Belmont, North Carolina, the daughter of James William Gibby and Florence Laney Gibby. She attended elementary and high school in Belmont, and Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Spring, NC. In 1945, she married Wayne Ashe, a Baptist minister, and had one son, Steve, both of which later preceded her in death. An accomplished pianist, she worked as a piano teacher, church organist, and administrator at an insurance company. She later married Irvin McBride of Reidsville, NC, who preceded her in death in May, 1997. She moved to Lawrence, KS in 1992 to live near her son, Steve Ashe, a professor and curator of entomology at the University of Kansas, and his family. In Lawrence, she married Gene Puckett in July 1999, who survives of the home, along with her grandson, Thomas Ashe, daughter-in-law, Aagje Ashe, her stepson, Randy Puckett, her stepdaughter, Jana Smith (husband, Scott), four step-grandchildren, Caitlin, Chris, Ruth and Julia, and niece, Susan Keith. A memorial service will be held at Plymouth Congregational Church, Thursday, April 14, 11:00 a.m. Leah will be interred at KU’s Pioneer Cemetery in a private ceremony. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Visiting Nurses, the KU Endowment’s Steve Ashe Memorial Fund, or a charity of your choice and may be sent in care of Warren-McElwain Mortuary.