Leah R. Wittekind

Leah Regina Wittekind passed away peacefully at her home on Bainbridge Island on March 24, 2019. She was born on July 24, 1954 in Hinsdale, Illinois to Sam and Barbara Weinstein with 4 brothers: Dan, Fred, Larry and Tom Williams. Leah is survived by her husband of 40 years, Mike Wittekind, their children Sam and Meg, as well as Sam's wife, Stephanie, and two grandchildren, Norah and Luca.


Leah approached every aspect of her life with style, grace, and creativity. She was loving and witty and had a phenomenal knack for instantly connecting with people through her friendly and caring manner.


Leah met Mike at Hinsdale South High School in the Chicago area where they were good friends. Leah attended Northern Illinois University where she focused on acting and directing and then moved to Cincinnati for a short time. Right after moving back to the Chicago area, Leah and Mike reconnected and they started dating, quickly became engaged, and were married. They moved to Madison, Wisconsin and their son Sam was born. After spending some time in California, they moved to Seattle where their daughter, Meg, was born. The family relocated to Doylestown, Pennsylvania where the kids spent most of their childhood years.


Over the years, Leah lived many places: Chicago, Cincinnati, Madison, Southern California, Seattle, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. In each place, Leah created a warm home in her signature style and made many close friends along the way. After years of travels, the Wittekind family found home on Bainbridge Island.


Leah was an incredible cook and had a keen interest in cookbooks, cooking shows, and creating new dishes. She was a master at improvising in the kitchen and her family and friends were the grateful beneficiaries who enjoyed her delicious creations - many were "shooting star" dishes that existed one time only.


Leah was an avid reader and compiled the most diverse and colorful bookshelf over the years which included works of fiction as well as non-fiction, with topics covering gardening, art, cooking, architecture, fashion, style, biographies and politics. She loved to play tennis.
She was a passionate gardener with an encyclopedic knowledge of plant varieties. At each home Leah made, she found joy in creating her beautiful gardens and felt at peace in nature.


Leah was engaged in the communities in which she lived. While living in Doylestown, she played an active role in the local chapter of the League of Women Voters and she also directed the children's talent shows at the elementary school. While living on Bainbridge Island, she helped organize book clubs and volunteered for the local library by using her lovely and theatrical voice to create recordings of the local news for the blind.


Those who knew and loved Leah will always remember her warmth and effervescent personality. Above all, she was fun, with a quick and sometimes mischievous sense of humor and infectious laugh. She loved kids and they all thought she was the greatest. Leah will be greatly missed by her family and friends.


A memorial gathering will take place at 4:00 PM on Sunday June 16, 2019 at the Bainbridge Island Art Museum. The family asks in lieu of flowers that donations be made to The Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation In Memory of Leah Wittekind. http://cholangiocarcinomafoundation.org