Jeanne Leavitt

Jeanne Ruth Leavitt (nee Swern), age 100, died Sunday, July 19, 2020 in Albuquerque, NM.

Born May 27, 1920 in Trenton, the first of three children to Samuel and Sadie Swern, Jeanne graduated from Trenton High School in 1938, and from Beaver College (Arcadia College) in Glenside, PA in 1942. In 1944 she married Milton C. Brown, D.D.S. with whom she had two children, Arthur and Charlotte. She and Milton divorced, and in 1967 she married Leo Leavitt.

Jeanne was a case worker for the State of New Jersey Department of Social Services in Trenton until her retirement. She relocated to Florida in the 1980’s, where she was an active member and volunteer of her temple, teaching Hebrew to adults. At age 89, she moved to Albuquerque to be closer to her daughter, grandchildren and great grandchildren. There she celebrated her 100^th birthday this spring with a parade, balloons and posters.

Wife of the late Leo Leavitt, sister of the late Marvin Swern and Doris Swern Berger, she is survived by her children,  Arthur E. Brown, M.D. (Jo Frances) of New York City, and Charlotte Roybal of Santa Fe, NM, her grandchildren, Samuel I. Roybal (Lexie) and Loreyna R. Roybal Ojeda (Gonzalo), and her great grandchildren, Mariela Ojeda, Mateo Ojeda, and Charles Roybal, all of Albuquerque, NM.

The family wishes to express its deepest gratitude and appreciation to the staff of Las Colinas Village in Albuquerque, where Jeanne lived her final 11 years, and in particular, to her caregivers: Emma Ruiz and Magalie Montez.

The family requests that memorial contributions be made to The Jewish Federation or to the Anti-Defamation League.

Funeral services are private, with interment at Greenwood Cemetery in Hamilton Township, NJ.