Skip, Reid, Sam and Janelle and family. I am deeply saddened by Leslie’s passing and send all my love to you during this difficult time.
I hope you know how important and influential Leslie was to many of us. I was very fortunate to have her as my best friend all through high school. We played basketball together but our friendship was so much deeper than that.
She was an incredible athlete. Her basketball game was exceptional. She had a gentle shot, smooth but very accurate...she was a fierce competitor though, always cool under pressure and worked very hard to make sure she didn’t let her teammates down. If you passed the ball to her in the clutch, she scored virtually every time. Her personality mirrored her athleticism and she bestowed the same gifts to our friendship. Fun, exciting, fiercely loyal, gentle and kind. She would befriend anyone, provide a helping hand to whoever needed it. She was a joy to be around and had an unrivaled gift of the gab.
Leslie spent a lot of time at my house hanging with me and my dad, Dave Anderson. He loved Leslie like one of his own children and she loved him back. Early on she said, “I can’t call you Mr Anderson anymore because you are too close to me but I respect you so much I can’t call you Dave”. So she started calling him Mr. Dave which caught on and after that everyone else called him that. We had many fun evenings, coffee dates and “stop-ins” with Leslie and Marj. We so enjoyed their stories. They shared the gift of gab. They had such a special relationship as you all know.
We lost per beautiful soul but she will always be a huge part of who I am. She has had such a positive influence on my life and our friendship meant the world to me.
I know she is enjoying a coffee with Mr. Dave and Marj as I write this and they are having an incredible time. Leslie and Marj are sharing stories and Mr Dave is chuckling.
I spent some time with them yesterday marching with the protesters and in strawberry field (at least it felt like they were there) and took this picture to commemorate the event
Sending all my love
Trish Anderson
