March 28, 1925 – July 11, 2026
Leona D. Currier, 101 years old, of Silver Bay, Minnesota, passed away peacefully at the Stevens Point residence of her son, Jeffery, on July 11, 2026.
Leona, the youngest child of Frank and Obeline (Derouseau) Secore, was born on March 28, 1925, in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, where she grew up and graduated from high school.
On September 30, 1944, she married Thomas James Currier, in Rice Lake. After the war, they moved to Northern Wisconsin (Gile) and then to Upper Michigan, where they raised six children and owned and operated the Viking Sewing Center in Ironwood.
She was an accomplished seamstress and tailor, giving sewing lessons to many women in the area. After her time with the sewing center, she was hired as a factory floor manager for Munsingwear in Ironwood, where she also designed a shirt for them that went into production.
In 1982 she was hired by Allen Kohl as his Executive Residence Manager at his family home in Milwaukee and continued this position with the Kohl’s in Beverly Hills, California. She met many celebrities and enjoyed sharing stories of her experiences with her family and friends. Upon retirement in 1992, she moved to Silver Bay, Minnesota to a home she had previously purchased.
Leona enjoyed golfing and any social occasions with friends and family. In her early years, she maintained a large garden, canning much of the homegrown produce. She was a member of St. Ambrose Parish, the Gogebic Country Club, and the Woman’s Club in Ironwood. In Silver Bay, she was a member of the Red Hat Society, and St. Mary’s Catholic Parish.
Leona was preceded in death by her parents; husband; daughter Yvonne (Jody) Winkowski; brothers Rayfield and Maurice; sisters Ella Secore, Bernice Demers, Lillian Schneider, and Marcella Barbee; sisters-in-Law Lillian Secore, and Claire Secore; brothers-in-Law Edward Demers, Francis (Fritz) Schneider, and James Barbee; son-in-law Dominic Gervasi; and daughter-in-law Mary Currier.
She is survived by her sons – James (Lynn) of Washburn, WI, Jon of Eagle River, WI, and Jeffery of Stevens Point, WI; daughters Jannine (Daniel) Bockovich of Silver Bay, MN, and Mary Gervasi of Ishpeming, MI; 20 grandchildren; 36 great-grandchildren (with one on the way); 2 great-great-grandchildren; and nieces, nephews, and Special Niece Ella Ruetten.
Cremation service was provided by Pisarski Funeral Homes, Stevens Point, WI.
A Celebration of Life will be held at her son’s home in Stevens Point, WI on (date = TBD).
Burial (at a later date) will be at Riverside Cemetery in Ironwood, Michigan, where she will be laid to rest next to her daughter, Yvonne.
