Marie DE MEULENAERE

2 OCT 1929 - 4 MAR 2013

• BIRTH: 2 OCT 1929, South Bend, IN
• DEATH: 4 MAR 2013, South Bend, IN

INDEX

[N5386] Marie Leddy
Oct. 2, 1929 - March 4, 2013
SOUTH BEND - "THE LADY BUG LADY"...Marie Leddy was often called the "lady bug lady" because of her joy in asking guests and strangers "May I bug you?" while pinning a tiny facsimile of a ladybug to their collar or lapel. She would then explain that the ladybug is an international symbol of good luck, good fellowship and love. Marie Irene was the second of three children born to Francois Maurice and Anna Marie (De Paepe) De Meulenaere in South Bend, IN. She joined her brother, Phil Joseph DeMeulenaere, and was followed by her sister, Irene Marie (Otto) Taylor. Marie's parents and her brother have preceded her in death. She is survived by two children, Frank James Leddy and Nancy Ann Baker (Larry) Seese, and stepchildren, Pat Leddy and Kathie (Bob) Myers, 15 grandchildren and 30 great-grandchildren. Marie began her first business, Robo-Typed Letter Service - a service that provided automatically typed personalized letters. In 1963 she opened a specialty gift shop, the Potpourri, in a Victorian home on Lincoln Way East in South Bend. In 1982, Marie turned to manufacturing -- fudge. She developed 313 flavors of fudge at the Fudge Farm, and began a national distributing company of sugar-free candies made to her specifications. Marie was a member of the National Speakers Association and gave seminars, programs and workshops on humor and Huna, the ancient Hawaiian philosophy of life. She worked on the faculty of Leighton Center's Aging to Sage-ing program as a volunteer. Marie donated her body to the Indiana School of Medicine for research and education. Marie Leddy reveled in life, love and learning. One of her favorite quotes was "I asked God for all things that I might enjoy life. He gave me life that I might en-JOY all things" -AND SHE DID! A memorial service will held on Saturday, March 16, 2013, at 10:00 a.m. at First Christian Church, 2511 East Third Street, Mishawaka, IN. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Center for Hospice Care, 111 Sunnybrook Court, South Bend, IN 46637.
Published in South Bend Tribune on March 11, 2013