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Funeral services for Ona Leslie, age 88, of Lemmon, SD, will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 20, 2022 at the Prince of Peace Chapel of the Evanson Jensen Funeral Home in Lemmon, SD.  Pastor Charlotte Kvale will officiate with burial to follow in the Greenhill Cemetery at Lemmon.

Ona Bernice Leslie was born on December 3, 1933 near Shadehill, South Dakota to Mervel A. and Ramona (Frerking) Ham.  She grew up south of Lemmon and graduated from Lemmon High School in 1952.  After high school, Ona attended one year of college at Dakota Wesleyan College in Mitchell, South Dakota before transferring to the University of Denver in Denver, Colorado.  She graduated from the University of Denver in 1956 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree.  After college, Ona was employed by Hallmark Cards in Kansas City, Missouri.  While in Kansas City, she met Collin K. Leslie and they were married on May 21, 1960.

In February of 1963, Ona and Collin moved to Lemmon, SD where they assisted with the Mervel Ham family farm and ranching operation. They later constructed a new house and continued farming and ranching until 2007 when Collin's health began to fail.  After Collin's passing in 2009, Ona continued living in their home south of Lemmon.

Ona passed away on Sunday, October 16, 2022 at the Five Counties Nursing home in Lemmon. She was a member of the Latter Day Saints and enjoyed crocheting, gardening, raising plants and flowers, especially African violets.

Surviving family members include two daughters, Maureen Leslie, Casa Grande, AZ, Colleen (Tom) Kolbeck, Salem, SD; three grandchildren, Chandra (Jason) Pruitt, Gilbert, AZ, Leslie Kolbeck, Sioux Falls, SD, and Collin Kolbeck, Salem, SD, and four great grandchildren; and three sisters, Louise Clark, Aberdeen, SD, Ruth (Vaughn) Berg, Lemmon, SD and Dorothy Lock, Williams Bay, WI.

She is proceeded in death by her husband, her parents, two brothers, and two brother-in-laws.