A bright light named Leona burned out in Gilroy on July 4th.
Leona Kolbly made Gilroy her home for the past 54 years of her
life. Although I only had the joy of knowing her for the last five
years of her life, I will benefit from what I learned from her
throughout my own life.
A bright light named Leona burned out in Gilroy on July 4th. Leona Kolbly made Gilroy her home for the past 54 years of her life. Although I only had the joy of knowing her for the last five years of her life, I will benefit from what I learned from her throughout my own life.
Never mind that at age 86, this former Gilroy school teacher’s hair had turned white and she had lost most of her eyesight.
She was still putting together layette kits for use in disaster areas, so that new mothers caught in a hurricane or a flood would at least have blankets and diapers to keep their babies warm and dry.
Because her hearing was great until the day she died (I learned never to whisper anything in the same room with her that I didn’t want her to know), Leona used the telephone as a touchstone for many who had become isolated and lonely, regularly checking on them to see if they were all right. She was the phone connection for a whole network of people who had basically been lost from the public radar screen.
She stayed in touch with an older woman in poor health named Rose even after she had moved away. When Rose decided not to take many of her belongings with her, Leona took charge of moving them out of storage and into her own garage. Leona painstakingly sorted through more than 50 boxes, and separated out anything she thought would be of sentimental value to Rose. She held a big garage sale with what remained. Because of Leona’s kindness, Rose donated the proceeds to benefit the youth at Leona’s church.
For the past three and a half years, Leona was hostess for a group of women who met in her home every Wednesday. Called Serendipity, this group began as a Bible study, but it evolved into so much more. It became a safe haven for sharing the ideas, hopes, and concerns of each woman. Leona’s living room became a place to laugh, cry, and share stories of all kinds in the embrace of a loving atmosphere.
Every year Leona adopted a family for Christmas. She would write an appeal to those she knew: “It’s time now to collect everything and get it ready to give to our adoptive family: this year’s family includes a mother with four children between the ages of one and eight living below the poverty level.
“I am collecting and wrapping the gifts, so if you can help, please contact me. Your generosity and commitment are greatly appreciated and will help provide this family with a wonderful Christmas. From My Heart To Yours, Leona Kolbly.”
She kept a childlike sense of wonder and curiosity into her 91st year, said “I love you” often, and found things to make others laugh about every day.
Little by little, Leona had to give up many of the activities that had once brought her pleasure in life. A widow for 34 years, she hated first giving up the independence of driving, and then eventually her walks around town as her eyesight failed.
It wasn’t easy growing older, but Leona always made it look effortless, like a ballerina going through the intricate steps of a dance as if it were as easy as breathing. She let go of what she needed to let go of each step of the way all the way through her life.
In 2004, Leona attended the funeral of a friend she had known for many years named Lyn Merrill. As people were telling stories of Lyn’s life, a mourner began lamenting his lack of recall and expressing how he wished he could recollect each and every memory about Lyn’s life. Leona leaned over and said to him, “You don’t have to remember everything. Just remember what’s happy in your heart.”
I will never forget her words: “Just remember what’s happy in your heart.” I try to live that way each day.
All are welcome to come celebrate Leona’s life on the 91st anniversary of her birth this coming Sunday, Aug. 6, at 3pm at the United Methodist Church on the corner of Fourth and Church streets. Call (408) 842-4021 with questions.
