Nothing stops Leona. Never mind that former Gilroy school
teacher Leona Kolbly has already lost most of her eyesight; she is
still putting together layette kits for use in disaster areas, so
that new mothers caught in a hurricane or a flood will at least
have blankets and diapers for their babies.
Nothing stops Leona. Never mind that former Gilroy school teacher Leona Kolbly has already lost most of her eyesight; she is still putting together layette kits for use in disaster areas, so that new mothers caught in a hurricane or a flood will at least have blankets and diapers for their babies.
Never mind that she is somewhere past 80; I can only speculate that she is nearing the vicinity of 90 (although her exact age is a carefully guarded state secret). You will find Leona arranging visits to those who are older than herself – like asking her Wednesday morning women’s group to pay a visit to 101-year-old LaRhee Nichols in her Gilroy home.
Never mind that Leona can’t drive anymore; she will send you flowers when you are sick. She keeps in touch with many shut-in people who have become isolated and lonely, regularly checking on them by phone to see if they’re all right.
Never mind that she can’t always get out to do what she’d like to do in person; she can still work with others to do things such as adopting needy families in the Friends Outside program, which provides help to impoverished families who are struggling to survive while one parent is incarcerated.
Never mind that she has had to give up many of the things that used to bring her pleasure in life. Instead of wasting time on self-pity, Leona has been providing snacks for Gilroy music teacher Gretchen Vandenberg’s musical theatre group, the Vineyard Kids. They will be performing “Little One” this coming Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 am. For more information, please call 607-2442.
It hasn’t always been easy growing old gracefully, and along the way Leona has occasionally misjudged her own strength. My favorite story of this illustrates both the amazing power of Leona’s positive thinking and the kind of community we enjoy here in Gilroy. One Sunday Leona worked so long after a church potluck that she ended up being the last of the clean-up crew ready to leave. She had stayed so long that there was no one left to give her a ride home. She tried getting a cab but had no luck, so finally she decided to just go ahead and “hoof it.” But she had underestimated how tired she was from being on her feet all morning. She came to the realization after walking part way home that she needed help.
She looked around and noticed a Hispanic teenager selling plants in his front yard. She went over and asked him if he had a driver’s license yet. They struck up a conversation, and soon he went to tell his mother in Spanish that Leona needed her help. So his mother came out and started up the car while the teen-ager very carefully put Leona’s bag into the trunk, and then he got in the backseat, and he and his mother drove Leona right up to her doorstep. They had a great time talking; he turned out to be a wonderful young man, and Leona really thoroughly enjoyed meeting him. When they got to her door, Leona told him, “Now this is where I live, if you ever go into the taxi business.”
When told this story, Leona’s close friend, Florence Trimble, (90-years-old at the time) responded, “I would have come to get you, if only you had had enough faith to get in the car with me driving.” And there you have what I call the tale of Leona’s Potluck Sunday Hitchhiking Adventure. Only Leona would hitch a ride at her age. Nothing stops Leona.
