LeAnne Scheetz

Loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister and friend

Leanne (Whittingham) Scheetz, 79, of Bellevue, Idaho, passed in the loving company of her family on Monday, Oct. 15, 2018, after a long fight against complications following heart surgery.

Leanne was born in El Paso, Texas, on Jan. 4, 1939. She was the second of five children born to William and Wanda Whittingham. The family moved to California when she was young, and she graduated from San Gabriel High School in San Gabriel, Calif., in 1957. After high school, she worked as a switchboard operator at Cal Cartage trucking company, where she met Ray Scheetz. The two were married in 1959 and raised two children, Mark and Kari (Johnson), in Lakewood, Calif.

Leanne was active in Mark’s football and Kari’s softball while they were growing up. The family spent most weekends at Ascot with Ray and his sprint car racing team. The racing community was her second family, and she always did what she could to take care of them, handing out egg salad and turkey sandwiches to everyone. At Perris Auto Speedway, she became the “woman” with the badge and the whistle keeping everyone in line. She had a quick smile and a kind word for everyone she met.

After Ray’s passing in 2013, Leanne wanted to be closer to her family. In 2016, she made the move to Idaho. She lived in Bellevue with her two doxies, Sweet Pea and Purdy. In Idaho she loved traveling in the motorhome and spending time on her party boat with her family and going on Jeep trips through the mountains. Adventure and ice cream were two things she would never pass up.

Leanne was preceded in death by her parents, William and Wanda Whittingham; her husband, Ray; her grandmother, Lily Forbes; and her brother-in-law Pete Chapouris.

She is survived by her son Mark Scheetz and his children Jeremy, Farren and Mya (great-grandchild Phairen); her daughter, Kari Johnson (Randy) and their children, Amanda Shelamer (Mike) and great-grandchildren Jamie, Ryan and Kendall, and Laura Brooks (Jeff) and great-grandchildren Kaleb, Lily and Ryder; and by her brother, Bill Whittingham (Norina), and her sisters, Carol Chapouris, Nancy Kelley (Charles) and Christy Chapouris (Tony).

There will be a celebration of life for Leanne at 4 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 19, at Calvary Bible Church, 102 Coyote Bluff Drive, Hailey, Idaho.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Leanne’s name to the Senior Connection in Hailey, (721 Third Ave. S. or Box 28 in Hailey, ID 83333, seniorconnectionidaho.org).