Jacqueline Frost “Jackie” Leaning

Jackie Leaning, 90; loving wife, mother and friend, died peacefully in her sleep early Friday, July 15, 2022.

Born Jacqueline Weed Frost, August 16, 1931, to Frederick T. Frost and Mildred Megie Weed.

Jackie was raised in Douglaston, Queens, NY and graduated from Bayside High School.  She attended Briarcliff College followed by Berkeley Secretarial School in Manhattan.  Upon graduation Jackie became part of early television advertising, joining Weed Television in mid-town Manhattan.  Jackie was proud to see the agency evolve from two small offices to eight, moving twice to accommodate a growing staff.

One fateful Thanksgiving in 1951, she met her future husband, Richard K. Leaning, while he was visiting neighbors in Douglaston.  Both smitten they stayed in touch while Richard finished his military service in Germany.

Upon Dick’s return they officially announced their engagement in May of 1954, marrying in September.  Jackie then joined Dick as he returned to his position as an engineer with E.I. DuPont de Nemours in Wilmington, Delaware.  Jackie suffered little culture shock moving from the city, as her approachability and effervescent nature won her many friends.  She quickly found a position in Personnel at DuPont, retiring in 1955 when Jackie and Dick had their first son, Alan, followed by Jay in 1958 and Andrew in 1962.  Jackie dedicated herself to her family, facilitating 2 transfers with DuPont, first to Aiken, SC then Mexico City in 1970.

Returning to Delaware, Jackie kept busy with family and volunteer service.  She worked with numerous charities, and most notably, The Wilmington Flower Market where she volunteered over 40 years.  Summer was Jackie’s favorite time of year as she and her parents and sister had spent summers on Shelter Island, New York since the 1930’s.  When her father, Frederick Frost, and brother-in-law, Dick Petry, purchased the iconic Pridwin Hotel, she kept the tradition going packing up the boys and taking them to Shelter Island, staying with her mother or at “The Hotel”.  The boys loved their visits to the island where multiple generations of family and guests still maintain a special bond.

The love for the Eastern Long Island region came easy for Jackie.  Her mother, Mildred Weed, came from a rich ancestry of colonial settlers including Jonas Weed, founder of Stamford, CT, and Josiah Stanborough, who left Lynn, Massachusetts in 1640, and landed on what is now known as Conscience Point, Long Island.  Mr. Stanborough would become an original settler of Southampton.  Jackie’s eighth great-grandparents were Thomas Halsey and Phoebe Wheeler, whose house, “The Halsey House”, is now a museum in Southampton.

Jacqueline is survived by her husband, Richard Leaning; sons, Alan and wife, Kyoko, Jay and husband Jack Baroudi; grandchildren, Michael, Jennifer, Faith, Amanda, Kendall; and three great-grandchildren.  Her son, Andrew, predeceased her.

A visitation for family and friends will be held on Thursday, July 21^st from 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm at Spicer-Mullikin Funeral Home, 121 West Park Place, Newark, DE 19711.  Services and interment will be held privately.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Jackie’s name to the Wilmington Flower Market, Inc., PO Box 3525 Greenville, DE 19807.

Jacqueline will return to her Long Island roots and be interred on Shelter Island with her beloved sister, Edith, and her parents.