Leisa Renee Arter, 58, Pierceton, passed away unexpectedly Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017 at her home. Born June 18, 1959 in Greenville, Ohio, she was the daughter of Jim and Sonja (McKee) Burch.

By the age of 4, Leisa’s mom had married James Burch and the family moved to Fort Wayne. As a young girl she enjoyed playing her with her dolls, but it was not uncommon to see Leisa following her three older brothers around wearing a football helmet and carrying a doll with her. She also enjoyed playing school and would make her brothers sit and listen to her as the teacher of the class.

Leisa graduated from Elmhurst High School with the Class of 1977 and following in her mother’s footsteps, she decided to work in healthcare. While studying at Ivy Tech College for her LPN, Leisa worked at Lutheran Hospital on Fairfield Ave. She would receive her LPN and graduate in 1979. Shortly after, Leisa started working at Parkview Hospital on Randallia before she moved to Columbia City and worked for Whitley Memorial Hospital. She later worked at The Oaks Nursing Home, Kosciusko Community Hospital with Dr. Ilada, Parkview Whitley along with working at Dr. Hanus’s office in South Whitley. During her work career, she met the man she fell deeply in love with. After knowing and working with each other for 16 years, John M. Arter and Leisa went golfing together and during a long walk the two decided to start a new chapter together. On April 8, 2010 she married the love of her life in Las Vegas, Nev.

She and John enjoyed many activities together like traveling, camping, going rafting down in Brookville, and each year mushroom hunting. They would visit Mesick, Mich. to mushroom hunt and for 35 years John carved the years they visited under the words he initially carved for her on the special tree, “John Luvs Leisa”. She also was quite talented with her knitting, drawing and painting skills, even though she gave her mom her first and only painting. Another skill she had was being a golfer. Even the day before she passed away, while competing in a tournament, Leisa sunk in a hole in one. She was always ready to golf and kept her clubs in her car.

Aside from all of this, Leisa dearly loved her family and especially being a grandmother of three. Thanksgiving was always a special time of the year for her and she looked forward to having her sons and grandchildren with her on that special day.

Leisa will be deeply missed by her family and friends. Surviving family members include her son, Chad (Christelle) Snyder, of South Whitley; parents, Jim and Sonja Burch, of Fort Wayne; brothers, Jeff (Rhonda) Burch, of Fort Wayne, Mike (Edna) Ryder, of Travelers Rest, South Carolina and Greg Ryder, of Fort Wayne; grandchildren, Layne and Reid Snyder; and several loving nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, John Arter on April 14, 2014; son, Matt Snyder on Oct. 9, 2016; granddaughter, Camdyn Snyder on Nov. 3, 2005; and grandparents, Chet and Elsie Long.

Private family services will be held at DeMoney-Grimes, a Life Story Funeral Home, 600 Countryside Drive, Columbia City. She will be laid to rest next to her husband John at Lakeview Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in her memory toward her final expenses, I.C.O. DeMoney-Grimes.