Rose Loretta Leon

Rose Loretta Leon, 80, of Frederick, Maryland, passed peacefully from this life on Tuesday, December 30, 2025 at her residence with family at her side. She was the wife of Robert Wallace Leon, her husband of 63 years.

Born on June 21, 1945, in Washington, DC, she was the daughter of the late Joseph Edward Cooksey and Rose Loretta (Melling) Cooksey. She attended The Sacred Heart Academy in Washington DC.

Rose dedicated her time to being a devoted wife, wonderful mother and amazing homemaker. She enjoyed spending time with family, especially her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Rose had a deeply rooted Roman Catholic faith and successfully passed that along to her children with love. Among her many talents, Rose was an exceptional baker (from scratch) and professional level cake decorator. She was an imaginative artist, talented at any craft and creation that she set her mind to constructing. Rose was known to hand make one of a kind gifts like personalized clocks, money trees and treasured holiday decorations. She even attended a class in ceramics to broaden her horizons. She was a skilled seamstress and made clothing and home goods when her children were young. Rose always enjoyed time outside with two green thumbs, tending to her gardens and flowerbeds. She had numerous interests and was unafraid to try something new. She even took a belly dancing class in her younger years just to try it! She was also a skilled writer, always with proper grammar. Many years ago Rose penned a story about a family trip to Disney World via railway train, with Bob & her young children. She beautifully framed the narrative about the train ride, not the stay in the theme park. The focus of her story was enjoying the journey and not just the destination. (Her wisdom was far ahead of her time.) Family vacations to visit relatives were an adventure with Rose. While annual trips to OC Cruisers Week were a family favorite for many years, above all she cherished home and the family within it.

All who knew Rose, knew of her many Rose-isms (far too many to list). From "Smile - it spreads like jelly!" to "Do your best & let God take care of the rest" to let's invite the "Whole Famn Damily", we never really knew what she was going to come up with next and she was hardly ever without words (or smiles)! The punch lines of her jokes were almost always messed up, yet we always ended up in tears with laughter anyways. Rose was a treasure to all who knew her.

Surviving in addition to her husband are three children: Deborah Heflin and husband Patrick of New Windsor, Joanne Leigh and husband Rusty of Mt. Airy, and Robert J. Leon and wife Tania of Silver Spring. She is additionally survived by her grandchildren : Jacob Heflin (Rachel), Cassidy Heflin, Cameron Heflin (Colton), Tyler Leigh and Austin Leigh, as well as her great grandchildren : Sawyer Heflin and Caleb Heflin.

She was preceded in death by her brothers Joseph Cooksey and Thomas Cooksey.

The family will receive friends from 4-7 PM on Wednesday, January 7, 2026 at Stauffer Funeral Home, 8 East Ridgeville in Mt. Airy, MD.

A Mass of Christian Burial will take place at 11:30 am on Thursday, January 8, at St. Michael Catholic Church at Poplar Springs, 1125 St. Michael's Road in Mount Airy, MD with Father Paul Sparklin as Officiant. Interment will follow at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Silver Spring, MD.

Memorial donations may be made to the National MS Society.