Lea was born Leota Sue Gulick in Mexico, Missouri, on June 9, 1944, to William Warren and Francis Pauline Gulick. Her sisters and brother, and all of her beloved nieces and nephews, always lovingly called her “Tootie,” or “Aunt Tootie.”
She was the baby of four children . . . the late Kathleen “Kathy” (Marvin) Coil, the late Shirley Jean (Calvin) Keith, and the late William “Bill” (Joan) Gulick. She is survived by her husband Larry, daughter Kristin, grandson Will (Milah), great-grandson Taylor, and nieces and nephews . . . Vicki (Steve) Hinson, Theresa (Ed) DeVeaux, Eric (Susan) Coil, Suzanna (Eric) VanMeter, Roxanne Raimondi, and Bill (JinLin) Griffin, and their children . . . Jennifer (Matt) White, Kaitlin (Pete) Colon, William Fry, Zachary (Lulu) Coil, Landon (Brianne) Coil, Logan Coil, and Ian Coil, Rachel Van Meter, Brigitta Van Meter, Bobby Karnick, Tommy Karnick, and Heidi (Mac) Hong, and their children. She was predeceased by her beloved son William, and nieces Denise (Daryl) Phears, and Valerie Coil.
Growing up in Mexico, Lea attended the First Baptist Church of Mexico, where she was baptized. In high school, she loved spending her summers as a lifeguard. Lea graduated from Mexico High School in 1962, where she was actively involved in marching band as a Dixie Grey, was a cheerleader, class Secretary, and Prom Queen — landing her the front page of “The Mexico Ledger.”
She went on to attend the University of Missouri, Columbia, where she met her husband Larry. They would later marry on September 5, 1965; and celebrated 60 years of marriage just weeks before her death.
In 1968, Lea had her daughter Kristin; and in 1973, Lea had her late son William. She was always a doting and loving mother, actively involved in all of Kristin and William’s curricular and extra-curricular activities, serving as Kristin’s Girl Scout Leader for several years, and William’s Cub Scout Leader.
Larry and Lea moved to St. Louis in 1971. In 1980, they moved to Ballwin, the house they have lived in for 45 years. Lea loved living in Ballwin. In 2020, with the arrival of COVID and social-distancing, Lea felt badly for all of the little trick-or-treaters, so she came up with a flyer for everyone on their street to put bowls of candy out on tables at the end of their driveways, so that the trick-or-treaters could still safely go trick-or-treating. This was such a huge success, that she created another flyer the next year . . . and the next . . . and now her idea has become an annual tradition.
Lea was a homemaker, who always took care of her home and family. She loved to garage sale and look for bargains to beautifully decorate her nest with antiques and treasures. She also loved her community and was a volunteer driver for Meals on Wheels and was a member and Secretary of the Ballwin Chapter of the American Association of University Women.
Lea always wanted to finish earning her college degree, so she went back to college in her late thirties, and graduated from the University of Missouri, St. Louis, in 1983 — at the age of 39 — with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications. One of her proudest moments was crossing the stage and receiving her diploma, with all of her family and mother cheering her on. Following obtaining her degree, she worked a short stint at a public relations firm, earning enough money to send the whole family on their first and only vacation out of the country — to Cozumel, Mexico. She was so proud that she had saved enough to pay for the airfare and all-expense paid vacation for her family of four. It was quite the accomplishment!
Lea was a lifelong earnest recycler, long before curbside recycling was even available. As far back as the early ‘80’s, she would separate out the recyclables into aluminum, bottles, and paper, and load them all up into her big green station wagon, and drive them up to the Target parking lot to drop them off at the recycler. She believed in leaving this planet as unharmed as possible.
Lea was brilliant and loved keeping her mind sharp! She and Larry would do the New York Times crossword puzzle together every day, and she loved watching Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, and any other game shows requiring her to use her brain!
Another one of Lea’s proudest accomplishments was when she was a runner-up in the Missouri Beef Cook-off — winning a trophy with a cow on top of it — for her delicious Teriyaki Meatloaf. That trophy was subsequently humorously recycled for other family awards!
Before Lea’s last physically-declining years, she had always been physically active throughout her life, enjoying bowling, racquetball, volleyball, and golf. She was most proud of the hole in one she achieved at The Acorn golf course in Illinois, where there stands a commemorative tree and plaque in her honor.
Lea also loved traveling around the country with Larry, taking trips to see Yellowstone, the Redwood Forest of Northern California, Niagara Falls and the New England states, and nearly all 50 states. One of her favorite trips was when she and Larry flew to Denver, Colorado, rented a car, and spent four weeks driving north thru British Columbia, Canada, and the whole length of the Alaskan Highway — through Alaska — and back. She took a camcorder and recorded the trip from the passenger seat, adding her own funny commentary.
Lea was the family photographer and historian. She was an amateur photographer who loved photographing all of the family vacations, trips, holidays, and get-togethers. As a result, the family now has myriads of photo albums, covering decades.
Lea loved animals and nature, with her favorite places being the St. Louis Zoo and the Missouri Botanical Gardens. She loved to fill her hummingbird feeder to watch her “hummies” as she called them. And she delighted in all of the birds and creatures who would come to bathe in front of her sliding glass doors in the bowls of water placed for them on the deck table. Over the years, she had several beloved family pets, including Pansy (her Bassett), Key (her diminutive Siamese cat), Purdy (her sweet canary), and Black and White and Gray kitties. And she equally loved her grand fur babies over the years . . . Honey Bunny, Spike, Trixabelle, and Zeus.
Lea loved her family. She loved annual summer trips to Pensacola, Florida, with Larry, Kristin, William, and her siblings, mother, nieces, and nephews. She loved family dinners and get-togethers, birthdays, anniversaries, Easters, Thanksgivings, and Christmases. And the loves of her life were her grandson Will and her great-grandson Taylor. Any time Taylor would enter the room, she would smile from ear to ear!
Lea was always full of so much joy and cheerfulness. She had the most beautiful radiant smile that lit up any room. And she always had that smile and a sincere compliment for everyone she met — the cashier, the waitress, the deli counter clerk, the bagger, the medical assistant, the receptionist. . . And she always had little treats for them to brighten their day — a Hershey’s miniature, a Valentine’s heart . . .
Lea was deeply loved by all who knew her, and will be forever missed.
Services: Lea wanted to be cremated. Her ashes will be buried at Jefferson Barrack’s. There was a memorial service for her at Jefferson Barracks Veterans Memorial Cemetery on Friday, November 28, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. A “Celebration of Life” buffet dinner followed at Kristin’s warehouse. As a service of the SCHRADER Funeral Home and Crematory, friends may sign the family's online guestbook at Schrader.com.
