Leah Wischemann

Leah Wischemann, formerly of Windsor, passed away peacefully in her sleep April 2 in Wikiup. She was almost 100 years old, but what struck most people was how old she wasn’t. Born Leah Rose Edwards on May 12, 1926 in Centralia, Washington, early on she loved trains, the Skookumchuck River, and the sound of the Pacific Ocean. Those loves never died, and she acquired new ones wherever she moved, open always to beauty. She worked in various jobs and towns during WWII. In June, 1948, she married Dave Wischemann after a very brief acquaintance, a marriage that lasted 25 years. They started the family they both wanted in April 1950 with daughter Trudy, then produced 3 more children – David, Steven and Carol, who was born in October 1961. Dave, a carpenter, built their first two homes from scratch, then remodeled another (while they lived in it) before they moved to Maui in 1967. The death of son David in Viet Nam in 1972 led them to relocate to California before Leah and Dave separated the next year. At age 47, Leah began a new life as a working woman and single mom. One of the first things she did was learn to tap dance. She never remarried and rarely dated. She loved music almost more than anything. She played the glockenspiel in high school band, memorizing all her parts because she never learned to read music. Her musicality was exquisite, however, and she learned to play piano by ear, accumulating well over 200 songs she could perform at the drop of a hat. The last three decades of her life she played “for old people” in nursing homes and retirement facilities, even using volunteer wheels and public transportation to get to her gigs after she quit driving. By then she went by Leah Rose, a name that finally suited her. She called this work her “therapy,” and suffered when the covid pandemic ended these opportunities to play for others. She leaves behind two daughters, Carol Tonelli (Kevin) of Windsor and Trudy Wischemann, Lindsay; granddaughter Cassandra Wischemann (Jolyn Piimuana) of Hana, Maui and grandson Robert Pettit Jr. (Esperanza) in San Diego, as well as bonus grandchildren David Tonelli and Jordana Elliot (Tommy) with bonus greatgrandbaby Taliah Ruth. Great-grandchildren are Christine Nakaoka-Eason (Kaliko), Eugene; David Wischemann III, Hilo; Koa and Bobby Pettit, San Diego. Great-great granchildren are Drake, Ilena Rose, Dimitri and Delilah Nakaoka-Eason. Leah also will be missed by her nieces, nephews, cousins and a mountain of friends, old and new. The entire family wishes to thank the caregivers at Angel’s Assisted Living for their passionate, personal & loving care during Leah’s last chapter. Yolanda, Ely, Gina, Rosa, Bertha & Claudia treated her like a beloved member of their own family, even when she was Spicy. A private celebration of life will be held in May. Donations can be made to Providence Hospice in Santa Rosa.

Leah Wischemann

May 12, 1926 - April 2, 2026