Following is the obituary for PAULA LEONARD, submitted by her family.

_____________________________

Paula Leonard, a longtime Westport resident, active volunteer and well-known realtor, died peacefully on May 25, 2023, surrounded by her family. She was 88. 

The eldest of three daughters, Paula and her sisters moved frequently as children; their father Wendell Campbell was an executive with CBS Radio who was often relocated. The Campbells lived in Ohio, Missouri, Minnesota and Illinois before arriving in Westport for Paula’s senior year at Staples High School. 

After college, she attended the Katharine Gibbs School and was hired as the secretary for William Rudkin, the eldest son of Margaret Rudkin, the founder of Pepperidge Farm. 

Soon thereafter, Paula met her future husband of 60-plus years, Dick Leonard. Local lore has it that when Dick asked if anyone wanted to dance on a table at Café Barna, Paula raised her hand. Married in 1957, Dick and Paula soon had four children born roughly 16 months apart: Rick, Jim, Anne and Carey. In 1970, they added a caboose, Colin, to the Leonard train. 

The through line in Paula’s life was one of craft — and her ability to figure out how to make or do just about anything was well known. 

An extraordinary wife, mother, cook, needlewoman — and later in life, beader — Paula also became a leading real estate agent in Westport in her 50s with Merrill Lynch Real Estate and later Prudential Real Estate, sustaining her career well into her 70s. Her practice thrived; she had a specialty in antique houses and sold the first $1M house in Westport in the early 1980s. She adored selling people homes and helping them settle in the town she and Dick loved. She always said she sold Westport, and the house came with it. 

Her passion for all things Westport took many forms. A member of the Westport Commission for Senior Services for more than 20 years, as chair, Paula drove the concept, construction and opening of the Westport Center for Senior Activities on Imperial Avenue. She also helped lead the conversion of the former Saugatuck Elementary School into The Saugatuck, making moderate-income housing available for aging town residents, and helped create the first tax-deferral program for seniors in the state. 

Paula, with her Prudential colleague Jean Coleman, launched and sponsored for years the Westport Historical Society’s annual fundraiser, the Hidden Garden Tour, which showcased some of the town’s prettiest gardens. She was also active with the Westport WarmUp fund, helping income-quali1ed households with home heating expenses during the winter months. When her children were young, in her role on Westport’s PTA Council, she spearheaded the town’s first dedicated bike lanes to Compo Beach on Compo Road South. 

An ardent cook, she was an early adopter of Julia Child and Elizabeth David. Paula enjoyed the narrative around food and ingredients, and once carried a large potted basil plant to Martha’s Vineyard on her lap (via car and ferry), with five young children in tow, to give to her hostess, long before fresh herbs were available outside the garden. 

In the 1970s, she wrote a cookbook, with fellow Westporter Pat Kessler, on how to transition from cooking for a large family to cooking for two without resorting to packaged or processed food. 

In 1998, Dick and Paula built a second home in Biddeford Pool, Maine, where the family had been vacationing for many years. “The Boathouse” became a summer gathering spot for the five children, their spouses and a growing corps of grandchildren. She spent her days on the beach body-surfing the waves and took long walks with their chocolate labs, Pool and Abbie. Paula took up golf and hosted the children and their families at a lively dinner table, followed by memorable charades games with Dick’s Staples High School English teacher colleague Joy Walker and her husband Bill. 

Preceded in death by her husband Dick in 2018, Paula is survived by two sisters, Happy Van Sickle of Chatham, Mass., and Beth Lane of Newport Beach, Calif.; five children, Rick Leonard of Westport (Amy), Jim Leonard of Santa Fe, N.M., (Story), Anne Leonard Hardy of Westport (Jim), Carey Leonard of Stratford (Cheryl) and Colin Leonard of Fayetteville, N.Y., (Kadie), and 11 grandchildren, Lizzie Leonard, Will Hardy, Kelsey Leonard, Ned Hardy, Molly Leonard, Charlie Leonard, Amanda Leonard, Campbell Leonard, Megan Leonard, Annie Leonard and Sophie Leonard. 

A celebration of Paula’s life is planned for Sunday, June 25, at 3 p.m., at the Westport Center for Senior Activities, 21 Imperial Ave., with a reception following. 

In lieu of flowers, donations to the Paula & Dick Leonard Memorial Award at Staples Tuition Grants are most welcome.