Leanna TESSIER

LEANNA CHRISTINE (TESSIER) McCLANAHAN Leanna, 71 of St. Anthony Village, MN passed away peacefully at home on Sunday April 2, 2023 (Palm Sunday) surrounded by the love of family after an almost 2 1/2 year courageous battle with melanoma. Her grace through her treatments was a testament to her faith and her extraordinary strength. She proudly and intentionally let faith guide her on her journey. Leanna was born on November 2, 1951 to Robert and Patricia Tessier in Grand Rapids, MN. She grew up in International Falls and attended St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School and was a 1970 graduate of Falls High School. She attended Rainy River Community College where she was an active member of the Student Senate and graduated with an Associate degree. From there she enrolled in St. Cloud State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. After college, Leanna married Lauren on June 22, 1974. Without question, he was the love of her life. In their 48 years of marriage, they raised three beautiful daughters and adored nine grandchildren. Their marriage was a shining example of how to live together in faith and love. Leanna had many work experiences in her lifetime from the Chamber of Commerce and Elenor's Dress Shop in International Falls to Gamble Robinson in downtown Minneapolis to various retail jobs at Hallmark, Hanson's Goodies and Gifts, Herbergers, and JC Penney. Much of this work was to ensure a Catholic education and countless extracurricular opportunities for her daughters. She was never afraid of hard work. God blessed Leanna with the gift of being a nurturing and patient caregiver. Her most important caregiving role was being a loving mother who put her heart and soul into raising her three daughters. She was overjoyed when she became a grandma and prioritized caring for her grandchildren by generously showering them with her time, energy, and love. Leanna also used her gift of caregiving as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) and Trained Medication Aide (TMA) in the care center, assisted living unit, and memory care unit at Presbyterian Homes Langton Place and Johanna Shores locations. She provided private home health care and companionship for elderly in St. Paul. This experience led her to her dear Lucreta whom she cared for for 5 years. Leanna had a beautiful and creative mind. She was an extremely talented artist and did many freelance projects. An entire room in her house was designated as her art studio and was bursting with projects and items that inspired her broad artistic interests. Many of her pieces were completed using colored pencils or watercolors. Most recently she enjoyed making unique and personalized bookmarks, cards, and keepsake boxes. She had artistic vision and the skill to make it a reality. Of utmost importance to Leanna was respecting life from conception to natural death. Throughout her life she worked to preserve human dignity. Leanna was a public speaker and board member for Human Life Alliance. She was on the ethics committee for Presbyterian Homes and served on the Eastside Hennepin County Human Service Council. She attended conferences on the issues of euthanasia, abortion and the vulnerable. A proud memory Leanna often shared was when she attended the March for Life in Washington D.C. in 1985. Leanna loved to be involved in her parish, her children's schools, and her community. She was a member of the St. Charles Council of Catholic Women and served a term as President in the late 1980s. She sat on the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women's Minneapolis Deanery Board. Leanna was a Eucharistic Minister, First Communion-Holy Family moderator, RCIA sponsor, Mardi Gras chairperson, Home and School member and church study group leader. She worked on various capital campaigns, volunteered at the Adoration Chapel and did miscellaneous artwork for the parish and school. She enthusiastically chaperoned her daughters' high school dances, which her daughters look back on with fond memories. Leanna also attended republican district caucuses and served as an alternate delegate at the State Republican Convention. In 2019 Leanna realized a life long dream when she and Lauren won a church raffle for a trip to the Holy Land. It was quite the adventure and she loved every second of it! She embraced the experience and made a beautiful memory book filled with pictures and anecdotes upon their return. Leanna had several hobbies. She loved decorating for holidays, especially Easter, 4th of July, Halloween and Christmas. She was also the family historian and spent countless hours working on the family tree and photo albums. She took pictures of every event and wrote detailed notes of family vacations. She enjoyed planning vacations, especially the big ones with her daughters and their families. Another hobby was watching sporting events. She supported her girls by regularly attending their sports through college. When her grandchildren began playing sports she would write all of their games on her calendar so as not to miss anything. Sometimes she would be found at multiple games on the same night and she loved it! She never missed a school activity for her grandchildren either and proudly represented all of them on Grandparents Day. Some of her other interests included preparing family meals and shopping with her daughters and granddaughters. Leanna had a beautiful smile and vibrant personality. When you were her friend you were a friend for a lifetime. She was a woman of strong faith who loved completely. She will be dearly missed by so many, but the joy and light she brought to the lives of those who knew her will never be forgotten. She was preceded in death by her parents Robert and Patricia (Demarais) Tessier, sister Lynnette and beloved nephew Robert Schwarz. She is survived by her devoted husband Lauren, daughters Kelly (Keith) Demarest, Katie (Brian) Vnak, Molly (AJ) Siroin; 9 grandchildren; sisters Patty Kaviuk, Renee (Ric) Sandstrom, Josette (Robert) Schwarz; brothers Paul, Morry, Chris (Tammy); numerous nieces and nephews and many more family and friends. Leanna had a Mass of Christian Burial at the Church of St. Charles Borromeo in Minneapolis on Friday April 14, 2023. She was laid to rest at Hillside Cemetery in Minneapolis. If you would like to honor Leanna with a memorial, please consider donating to the Gary G. Wilmer Scholarship fund at St. Charles Borromeo School or the Sisters of Life (sistersoflife.org).
Published by Rainy Lake Gazette from May 23 to May 26, 2023.