Leona Albrecht Kretzschmar Sledge

Our beloved Mom, Leona Sledge, peacefully entered her Heavenly Home on June 17, 2024. She lived an incredible 96 years. Mom was born in Caldwell County, Texas on March 18, 1928 and grew up in Austin,Texas where she lived her entire life. She attended Austin High School and went on to graduate from Durham Business College. She spent time working at the Austin American Statesman before marrying the love of her life, Leroy Kretzschmar, on October 8, 1948. They were blissfully married for almost 18 years before Dad's untimely death in June of 1966. Realizing she then needed to provide for herself and her two young children, Mom accepted the invitation from the Board of Education at Redeemer Lutheran Church to work and serve as their School Secretary starting in August of 1966. Mom had found her calling and absolutely loved her job at Redeemer. She proved that by faithfully serving there for an extraordinary 35 years. Not long after starting her job at Redeemer, she met and married our stepdad, Elmo Sledge, in December of 1967. They were married for 51 years. After an adventurous journey as Redeemer's School Secretary, Mom made the decision to retire in August of 2001, right before 9/11. In retirement, she sat down to enjoy her game shows, her soap opera, her word seek books, her crocheting and, of course, her beloved Texas Longhorns. She also continued to enjoy bowling with Elmo on various bowling leagues. And yes, she did bowl a perfect game of 300 once in her many, many years of bowling and also earned her 700 Series patch for Women on the same evening! Mom was also an accomplished seamstress, having learned how to sew at a young age out of necessity. She made countless clothes for herself and her daughter Kris. Included in her sewing collection are her daughter's wedding dress and bridesmaid dresses for a couple of family friends and her daughter-in-law Leta. Crocheting was also a favorite hobby of Mom's. Many of us in our family possess a prized bedspread, afghan, shawl or baby blanket lovingly crocheted by Mom. She even crocheted a UT afghan for Texas football coach Mack Brown!

This person whom we have called Mom, Grandma, or Leona for many years was one extraordinarily strong woman. She showed extreme resilience and perseverance throughout her long life, including during her 11-year journey with the dreaded Alzheimer disease. But we know in our faith and hearts that she is now at peace in Heaven and it goes without saying that we will all miss her dearly. .

Leona is predeceased in death by her parents, all six of her siblings and her two husbands. She is survived by her daughter Kris Cue' and partner Paul Brown, her son Ed Kretzschmar and his wife Susan and by her stepson Scott Sledge and his wife Leta; her grandchildren Sarah, Kathy, Heather, Daniel, Leslie, Scott, Michele, Matthew and Kristen; and also 19 great grandchildren and one great great grandchild.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Redeemer Lutheran School 1500 W Anderson Lane Austin, Tx 78757; Magnolia Hospice 1421 N Wells Branch Parkway, Suite 105 Pflugerville, Tx 78660 or any charity or research organization that serves the Blind or Deaf Blind Communities in Texas.