Mary Leitner

Mary Elizabeth Leitner, age 105, of Edwardsville and a former long-time Alton resident, died Friday, December 29, 2017, in Edwardsville, Illinois.Betty was born in Edwardsville on August 12, 1912, the daughter of John W. and Mary Wendell Hildenstein.  She grew up in Edwardsville, where as a teen-ager she played the organ for youth events at St. Boniface Catholic Church.Following graduation from Edwardsville High School, she worked for 14 years as a secretary at the Laclede Steel Company headquarters in the Arcade Building in St. Louis, commuting by streetcar.In 1941 Betty married Arnold F. Leitner in Fulton, Missouri.  They settled in Alton and raised three children: Mary Kay, Richard J.  “Dick,” and Wendy.  Betty returned to Edwardsville in 2011.Betty was a deeply religious woman who volunteered for many years at St. Joseph’s Hospital and St. Mathews Catholic Church in Alton.  She enjoyed bridge, bowling, golf, attending musicals at the Fox Theater, following the St. Louis Cardinals, and traveling in the United States, Europe and Brazil.Betty seldom had a down day.  She was a kind and thoughtful person and a hard worker who saw the silver linings in life.  She was an excellent cook who liked nothing better than hosting her family.  She was a loving mother, grandmother and great grandmother.In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Arnold; daughter Mary Kay of Wood River; son Dick of Fairfield Bay, Arkansas; sister Harriett Cunningham of Bellevue, Washington; and brothers Melvin Hildenstein of Wood River and Wendell “Gabe” Hildenstein of Homosassa, Florida.Betty is survived by a daughter, Wendy (Bill) Anderson of Edwardsville; a daughter-in-law, Patricia Leitner of Fairfield Bay, Arkansas; a former daughter-in-law, Beverly Leitner of Wood River; grandchildren Brian Leitner of Chicago; Chris Leitner of Haslet, Texas; Mike Anderson of Brentwood, Missouri; Sarah Young of Glen Carbon; and Stephanie Duncan of East Alton; along with great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.Visitation will be on Tuesday, January 2, 2017 at St. Boniface Catholic Church in Edwardsville from 10:30 a.m. until time of a Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 a.m.Interment will follow in Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Edwardsville.Those wishing,  memorials may be made  to the St. Vincent DePaul Society, c/o St. Boniface Catholic Church in Edwardsville; the Arthritis Foundation; or for masses at St. Boniface Catholic Church in Edwardsville.Staten-Fine Funeral Home in Alton is in charge of arrangements.An on-line guest book may be found at www.staten-fine.com

Obit Provided By:
Staten Fine Funeral Home & Crematory