Leila Lee (Still) Cohoon

Leila Cohoon was a loving wife, doting mother and adoring grandmother and great-grandmother who was called to Heaven by our Lord on November 24, 2024 after 92 blessed years on this earth. She was born on a farm outside of Marceline, Missouri on December 9, 1931 to Alvah and Inez Still. She graduated from Marceline High School in 1949 and started her life-long career in Cosmetology by apprenticing with a local salon in Marceline.

She met a handsome young man one evening at a local dance club. He asked for a dance but she told him she was saving all her time for the “boys in uniform.” Don Cohoon returned the next night in uniform and after just three dates they were married on June 8, 1952. They lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico where Don served in the 1094th USAF Special Reporting Squadron as Military Police. They had two children, Bruce and Linda, while stationed in Albuquerque.

Immediately after Don’s honorable discharge from the Air Force in 1955 they moved back to Kansas City and Leila continued her career in Cosmetology and soon opened her own salon called Leila’s House of Beauty. She enjoyed competing in hairstyling competitions worldwide and was awarded numerous trophies for her talent. She and Don provided hairstyling services for the Miss America and Miss USA Beauty Pageants. They were active members of the OHFC (Official Hair Fashion Committee) of the NHCA (National Hairdressers and Cosmetologists Association), the MHFC (Missouri Hair Fashion Committee) and the Kansas City Coiffeur Guild. Leila was a past officer of the Missouri Association of Cosmetology Schools. She served a term as Committee Head for Esthetics America, a branch of NHCA. Leila also served as a member of the Missouri State Board of Cosmetology.

In 1960, Don and Leila founded the Independence School of Hairdressing in Independence, MO. It was the first cosmetology school in Missouri to become nationally accredited. She always insisted that the college be the best they could offer. The name would later be changed to the Independence College of Cosmetology. At one point she trained two students who earned recognition as members of the US Student Olympic Team, competing in hairstyling. Leila wrote the legislation to create a Missouri Esthetics license that would be separate from the cosmetology license. She worked in politics for 15 years to get that bill passed into law. At the same time she expanded the college to include Esthetics as a course. The curriculum she chose was provided by CIDESCO, an international esthetics organization. Independence College of Cosmetology became the 2nd CIDESCO school in the US. There are now 18.

At various times over the years, Don and Leila owned numerous beauty salons including Leila’s House of Beauty, Chalet of Beauty, LeDon’s Hair Fashions and The Professionals in Hair, Skin & Nails in three locations.

She and Don also operated Professional Beauty Products from 1979 to 2018, a Midwest distributorship of hair products selling to salons and cosmetology schools in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Colorado. Their cosmetology college was sold in 2019 leaving a 59-year legacy and thousands of successful graduates and happy clients. Leila was considered a mentor by many in her lifetime and was loved dearly by family and friends alike.

Leila was an avid gardener, reader, writer, poet, Republican supporter, world traveler, public speaker and shopper. Leila was even a Missouri delegate to the Republican National Convention in 2004. She received a personal Resolution from the Missouri House of Representatives for her work in politics. They received a Christmas card from the White House whenever a Republican was President. Leila and Don shared a summer home with friends at Lake Lotawana, Missouri beginning in the 1960s. Boating, swimming, ice skating and enjoying the sailboat races were favorite pastimes. They moved permanently to Lake Lotawana in 1983 where they hosted annual 4th of July parties, Memorial Day and Labor Day celebrations and welcomed hundreds of guests over the years. Leila was a welcoming hostess and enjoyed opening their lake home to many of their Ararat Shrine friends and kids of all ages. She enjoyed lunching on Wednesdays with a group of girlfriends for over fifty years. (usually at V’s Italiano Ristorante.)

In 1956 Leila started a collection of Victorian Hair Artifacts which, over time, would become her greatest passion. In 1986 she finally had a location to showcase her collection and founded the first and only hair museum of its kind, “Leila’s Hair Museum” in Independence, Missouri. Some of her famous visitors included Mike Rowe, who filmed her in a segment of “Somebody’s Gotta Do It,” and musician Ozzy Osbourne (filming his reality TV show, “Jack & Ozzy’s World Tour”. She had visitors from across the United States and from around the world, creating a legacy that will never be forgotten.

Leila was featured in People magazine, and MSN named Leila’s Hair Museum as one of the “Fifty Most Underrated Attractions in Every State.” She was interviewed by all the local tv stations. With a collection consisting of over six hundred hair wreaths and two thousand pieces of jewelry, it is truly a monument to Leila’s passion. Among her many accolades, her museum was featured on AOL Travel, and Travel & Leisure named it one of America’s Strangest Museums. She enjoyed collecting pieces of art for her museum, including hair from Queen Victoria, four presidents, and multiple celebrities including Michael Jackson and Marilyn Monroe. She was dedicated to sharing her knowledge about the ancient and mostly forgotten craft and art of hair weaving. Leila took on a project of Purple Heart signs along I-70 and 50 Hwy in Missouri. If you see one, think of Leila.

Leila and Don were members of Woods Chapel United Methodist Church in Lee’s Summit, MO.

Leila was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 59 years, Donald W. Cohoon; parents, Alvah and Inez (Linebaugh) Still; her sisters Elizabeth Ann Edwards, Geraldine Washam, and Juline Hern; and her step siblings/in-laws Lovene, Bill, and Robert Cohoon.

Leila leaves sisters-in-law Vicki Berg and Ruth Cohoon; son Bruce Cohoon (Vicki), daughter Linda Clifford (Tim); grandchildren Lindsay Evans (Ryan), Adam Green, Brittany Accurso (Christopher) and Garrett Cohoon; bonus grandchildren Kimberly Ducker (Richard), Shawna Clifford and Curtis Clifford; great grandchildren Gavin, Bennett, Isabella, Jonathan, Kayleigh, Gianna, Colette, Adelina and Claire, bonus great grandchildren Brett, Keaten, Payton, Shawn, Nick, Mya, Hannah and Derrick; and bonus great great grandchildren Caleb, Kye, Kylah and Ember. She also leaves many nieces, nephews and other extended family members.

Leila’s life will be celebrated at Woods Chapel United Methodist Church, 4725 NE Lakewood Way, Lee’s Summit, MO 64064 on Thursday, December 5, 2024.

Visitation is from 10:00-11:00 am. The funeral service will begin at 11:00am.

Burial will be immediately after at Lee’s Summit Historical Cemetery, 806 SE 3rd St., Lee’s Summit, MO 64063.