YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (MyValleyTributes) – Donna L. Leskovec, a longtime resident of the area, died Wednesday, November 16, 2022 after a brief illness.
Donna was born January 7, 1935 in Youngstown, the daughter of Crescenzo “Christy” and Angeline “Angela” (Alexander) Mancini.
Raised on the west side of Youngstown, she was a 1952 graduate of Chaney High School where she was a cheerleader and choir member.
She married her high school sweetheart, William Leskovec and was married for 65 years until his death in September 2022.
For more than 50 years, she served as the Presiding Judge of the Mahoning County Board of Elections and worked at Mr. B’s Catering for 33 years, retiring in 1996.
She had been a resident of the Austintown community since 1961 and a founding member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Austintown.
She was especially proud to be a granddaughter of Italian immigrant grandparents from Pacentro
(Abruzzo) and Roscigno (Campania) and enthusiastically embraced his rich Italian heritage which taught him the most important qualities in his life: compassion, warmth, hospitality and the importance of family. She instilled these same deeply rooted virtues and traditions in her own children and grandchildren.
An avid traveler, Donna and her husband have enjoyed their vacations to many places in the Caribbean, Hawaii and California, as well as their annual trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Besides travelling, she enjoyed water aerobics, going to casinos (local and remote), card club meetups, going to concerts and listening to Italian music. She watched it all
sports but especially loved Duke basketball. She was also an avid fan of Youngstown State and Ohio State athletics, as well as the Cleveland Guardians and Cleveland Cavaliers. Truly, her four greatest joys in life were her grandsons. She loved being their Nana; proud to cook their favorite Italian specialties and attend their many sporting and special events. She kept the strong family bond alive by often sharing stories of her own life’s journey.
For the past several years, Donna and her husband have been dedicated and dedicated caregivers to their recovering son, Brian, who predeceased her. She was also predeceased by her husband, William; parents, Christy and Angela (Alexander) Mancini; sister, Loretta (Mancini) Hartzell; brother, Howard Mancini; sisters-in-law, Josephine Mancini and Virginia Mancini; brother-in-law, Marvin Hartzell; son-in-law, James (Jim) Williams; nephew, Howard Hartzell and great-nephew, Michael Hartzell.
She was a loving mother, “Nana” and aunt who will be sadly missed by her daughter, Angela (Leskovec) Williams de Solon; grandsons, Christopher Leskovec of Delaware, Brennan Williams of Solon, Connor Williams of Titusville, Florida and Craig Leskovec of Delaware; brother, Herb (Mary Ann) Mancini of Youngstown; nephew and godson, Richard Mancini of Fort Myers, Florida and godson, Jeffrey Clark of Canfield, as well as many friends, nieces and nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews and cousins.
Family and friends can pay their respects to Donna on Sunday, November 20, 2022 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Higgins-Reardon Funeral HomesAustintown Chapel, 4303 Mahoning Avenue in Austintown.
A Christian Burial Mass will be held the following day, Monday, November 21, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, 4545 New Road in Austintown, with the Reverend Michael Swierz officiating.
Entombment will take place after Mass at the Resurrection Cemetery in Austintown.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in her name to the American Diabetes Association or the American Cancer Society.
To send flowers to family or to plant a tree in memory of Donna L. Leskovec, please visit our flower shop.
A televised tribute will air on Friday, November 18 at the following approximate times: 6:47 a.m. on WYTV, 9:43 a.m. on WKBN, 10:58 a.m. on FOX, and 8:12 p.m. on MyYTV. The video will be posted here the day it is released.
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