Leslie Jean Wilson passed away peacefully in her Genesee home surrounded by family Dec. 9, 2022.
Leslie was born Nov. 9, 1948, in St. Paul, Minn., to Virginia and Earl Fisher, the second of five children. Leslie’s family moved several times as her father, a Navy veteran and U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service officer, was stationed in Maryland, Texas, Illinois and eventually settled in Spokane. She graduated from Mary Cliff High School, Spokane’s all-girls Catholic high school, in 1966.
Leslie began working her career with the United States Postal Service that year. In those days, she rode a fondly-remembered motorcycle and attended Spokane Falls Community College. It was at the Post Office that she met her future husband, Charles Wilson. The couple wed in a small ceremony of family and friends in 1973.
Leslie and Charles moved their family to Genesee in 1979, when Leslie became the town postmaster, a position she would hold until she retired in 2003. They enjoyed being part of the community, raising their three youngest children there. As postmaster, Leslie genuinely loved meeting everyone in Genesee, and it was her daily interactions with so many wonderful people that she missed most when she retired. Leslie was actively involved in the community and especially enjoyed being involved in her children’s and grandchildren’s education. She served on the district’s school board and was a lifelong supporter of education. In 2015, Leslie completed a longtime personal goal by earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in business from Lewis-Clark State College.
Leslie’s faith was central in her life. She was an active member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church and Parish, serving as a reader, Eucharistic minister and on the Idaho Diocesan Parish Pastoral Council. She especially enjoyed working with young people in religious education, in recent years helping high school students learn and grow in their faith.
When her family was involved, Leslie was a loyal sports fan. Over the decades she attended hundreds of volleyball, basketball, football and baseball games played by her children and grandchildren from kindergarten to high school. She also became an avid follower of Major League Baseball and enjoyed sharing her favorite teams’ wins and losses with her siblings. A lifelong reader and learner, she followed politics and enjoyed murder mysteries.
Leslie believed in and practiced a broad definition of family, caring for and staying in close contact with her sisters and brother, cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, lifelong friends and neighbors and new acquaintances. She welcomed two young family members, Jenny Olson and Michael Gunnels, into her home for years as they finished their high school education. Leslie’s dedication to every individual in her extensive family and friends network was apparent to all who knew her, and it was her greatest joy to care for and support the special people in her life.
Leslie is survived by her husband of 49 years, Charles; as well as stepdaughter Janelle (Bill) Lamphier, of Spokane; daughter Niki (Frank) Wolf, of Uniontown; son Adam (Jessica) Wilson, of Olympia; and daughter Morgan Wilson (Jeff) Segebartt, of Lewiston; brother Steve (Debbie) Fisher, sister Joan Fisher, and sister Amy (Joe) Babin. Her legacy lives on in her children and 12 grandchildren, and her many nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her older sister Sharon Fisher, her father, mother, and stepfather Ray Rhame.
The Holy Rosary will be recited at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Genesee, followed by the funeral Mass which will be celebrated by Rev. Joseph McDonald at 11.a.m. All family and friends are invited to a reception and luncheon at the Genesee Fire Station immediately after the funeral.
The family suggests memorials be made to St. Mary’s Endowment Fund, the American Cancer Society, or a charity of your choice. Arrangements have been entrusted to Short’s Funeral Chapel, Moscow condolences may be left at shortsfuneralchapel.com.
