Leigh Ann Sparks

[Susan]

Leigh Ann Sparks was someone you respected, you might like her, you might not. But you always gave her the respect she was entitled to. I loved Leigh, I am sure that I was not alone in that. Leigh Ann Sparks passed away September 9th from the cancer which ravaged her body. She was 60 years old, and taken from us much too soon.

Leigh was admitted to OHSU on Monday, September 4, 2006. She was not feeling well. Subsequent testing indicated widespread cancer in everything from her brain down to her vital organs. She passed away peacefully at approximately 11:30am on Saturday, September 9, 2006."  She did not die alone, her leather Dad, Cyd Athens was there

There will be a memorial service a week from today, At the Egyptian room in Portland Oregon on Sunday, September 17th at 4pm PST. The Egyptian room is a local bar.

Some recollections about Leigh, please feel free to post your own also!

She said "I am sometimes too honest, almost to the point of rudeness.  If someone asks me a question,  I'll answer and if they don't like it, well they did ask."

In July 2005 she told Stephanie Craxford, "I am not strong at all.  I am just one determined bitch in boots an jeans who wasn't about to let some damn lil bug get in the way of me living my life"

She carried a key chain "Woman by birth, Bitch by choice"

Leigh was a 'card carrying lifetime member' of Bad Girls, something she was very proud of.

Read a newspaper story about Leigh

Here's a letter written by Leigh:
<blockquote>
Spelling in tolerance editorial divides
Letter to the editor
February 2, 2005

As a woman who is part Athabascan living in Oregon, I am compelled to ask why in part of this editorial (Empire editorial, Jan. 23), blacks was spelled with a lower case "b" but Natives was spelled using a capital letter? Why the use of the word blacks in the first place?

Gays and lesbians can be closed-minded and condescending about heterosexuals, just as blacks and Natives can be hateful toward whites. The idea is to eliminate intolerance from all directions.

Leigh Ann Sparks

Portland, Ore
</blockquote>
I am sure Leigh would do it one last time herself, if she could so here goes Be good, don't be sad, celebrate her life, She was a great person and will be missed.

	Leigh Ann Sparks We celebrate your life June 02, 1946 - September 09, 2006

* I personally wish to thank Dennis, Elleane, Emerald, Steph, Terri-Gene, and Valerie for helping me through the very hard job of writing an announcement on this sad occasion. I could not have done it by myself.

[LynnER]

-----<------@

[Christina_Lee]

May the Creator carry you and nurture you into the Great Beyond. We will sorely miss you!

[HelenW]

I noticed that Leigh hadn't been posting for a while and I had no idea that it was that serious!

Oh, I am so sad this happened.  Leigh was very tough sometimes, sometimes a little more than necessary I think, but I could always recognize her honesty and personal integrity in all her posts.

I've been missing her and I miss her more now.

[cindianna_jones]

I wanted to write something special for Leigh and perhaps later I'll be able to do so.  Right now, my mind is dumbfounded and can't think clearly.  I did not know Leigh as well as some of the other members here.  We had a few brief interactions.

I wanted to write something special for Leigh and perhaps later I'll be able to do so.  Right now, my mind is dumbfounded and can't think clearly.  I did not know Leigh as well as some of the other members here.  We had a few brief interactions.

Leigh was a  self perceived "bad girl".  And it was through this thread that we connected.  I've never considered myself a "bad girl".  But I have always been able to press the buttons, push the limits, and test the boundaries of any social system.  She recognized that in me and shared a limited view into her life. 

Bad was the view she displayed, it wasn't in her heart to be bad.  She talked a tough line but had a tender heart. Her shell of black leather did not protect her from the barbs of life as she portrayed. Her obstinacy was her way of saying "check your hypocrisy at the door".

She was proud of her little happy face with a whip.... much to the chagrin of some members of the forum.  I believe her overt presentation was mostly in fun... a fashion statement of sorts.

I'm sure that Leigh would have loved to go... riding the road on a powerful machine... a grumbling engine throbbing between her legs.. tires screeching... rubber burning... absurd speed... and a theatrical crash... conflagration ... the earth rumbling, cracking ... grinning and facing the devil down at his own gate.

Ride the roads of heaven Leigh.  Wake up the neighbors.  Give 'em hell!

Cindi

[beth]

               I am at a loss for words. Leigh was one of the reasons I am here at Susan's.  We shared one little bit of history together long ago in different lives. I had already been missing her. She was never too blunt or rough, she was just Leigh.

               Her name is no longer listed as a member, is there a way possible that it could be retired? I would not want someone else to use her name.


I hope things are lots better there hun, when I get there we can share another bit of history.

love

beth

[Sheila]

I met Leigh on Susans a long time ago and thought she was a little rough and remember her and Elvira going at it all the time. I remember when she got her surgery too and then about a year later she had breast cancer. I know she was pretty rough at times, but she was very nice in person. I have met her a couple of times when her and Lori Buckwalter would come down to Eugene to help me with the Gender Identity cause. I didn't know she still had the cancer and this is really a shocker. I'm so sad that I didn't get another chance to be with her. I remember her sitting in the audience when I gave my speech and it was my coming out day too. That was the first time I met her. She was cute. I'm really going to miss her. She told me one day she was going to bring down a whole lot of dykes to clog up the restrooms down here in Eugene. I told her I didnt want any trouble.
Good bye Leigh, I will miss you a lot.
Love, your friend Sheila

[DawnL]

 

I frequently disagreed with Leigh but I always respected her opinions and her courage of
conviction in those opinions.  She was a strong woman who didn't tolerate fools, whose
words were often sharp, but also genuine.  I will miss her.

So long Leigh,

Dawn

[tinkerbell]

tink

[Kimberly]

^{*mourns the death of a friend and celibates the birth of a little baby girl named Leigh...*}

[Dennis]

I will very much miss her tough, no-nonsense, no-bs style that was hiding a warm heart and a wonderful woman.

Hopefully next time around (for her sake, not ours) she gets the right body to match her mind. As for us, we were lucky she didn't, so we got her company over these too few years.

Dennis

[Kate]

My god... I had no idea. I'd been wondering why she wasn't posting.

I so appreciated her honesty... not just in what she said, or her opinions, but in just the way she WAS Leigh. No excuses. No apologies.

She was always such a source of strength and stability... it's hard to imagine her ever being gone

[BrandiOK]

Being new in this group I find myself looking back and trying to get a feel of the person Leigh was.....all I know is she seemed to be someone who stood up for herself and her life and that, in itself, is something that I admire more than I can express.

Good bye Leigh......you leave with an integrity that can never be questioned.  I only wish I had known you longer as I believe I could have learned much from you.

Brandi

[Hazumu]

I'd very much hoped to meet Leigh in Portland.  Terri had spoken highly of her -- both the good and the 'bad'.  Terri told me that Leigh had gone from being a dragster driver to a pizza delivery driver due to her transition, and missed the drag strip but loved every minute of her post-SRS life.

Her loss will tinge the Portland gathering with melancoly.  I never knew her personally, but I will hoist a glass in her memory.

Karen

[Kate Thomas]

I am deeply saddened th hear this news.

Kate Alice

[Melissa]

NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I can't even finish reading this.  I am crying hard.  I met with her on several occasions and considered her a good friend.     Too much death.

Melissa
Posted on: September 10, 2006, 10:33:34 PMOk, doing somewhat better now.  She has helped me more than she knew with my transition and she will never be forgotten.  I deeply miss her.  I've never had a closer friend to me die before, so this is very hard.

Melissa

[Elizabeth]

Hey everyone,

I just had the strangest experience.  As I read of the passing of Leigh it made me cry. I don't know why, I didn't really know her and never PM'd her.  To be honest she kind of rubbed me the wrong way.  Despite that, I also had a deep respect for her.  I love people of conviction, even if I disagree with that conviction.  She is what my dad would have called "a smart ol broad", granted a term of endearment, however, I did not cry when my dad died.  Strange that the loss of a person I have never met moved me more than  the passing of my own father.  I guess it is a testiment to the kind of person she was and her ability to influence others around her.  I will miss her.

Love always,
Elizabeth

[LostInTime]

I am in shock.  She was always so full of life here, it is hard to imagine her gone now.  Plus she was the only other person in leather here.  She definitely will be missed and I am very glad to read that her leather Dad was there with her and that she was not alone.

[Sarah Louise]

I am so sorry to hear of her passing

[Robyn]

Loss of family is especially hard, and Leigh was family.

Robyn