Obituary for Mary Louise MacLeod

Mary Louise (Forst) MacLeod of Westerville, Ohio passed away June 16 at her home in Huber Ridge. She was 95.

Mary Lou, as she was known, was born Jan. 24, 1927 in New Rochelle, N.Y. She graduated from Isaac E. Young High School in 1944 and then attended Westchester (N.Y) Secretarial School. She worked at the Taylor-Reed Corp from 1946-55, when she married former high school classmate Albert MacLeod, also of New Rochelle, on Nov. 12, 1955. They were married for 64 years until Albert passed away Dec. 7, 2019.

The couple has four sons, Albert John MacLeod Jr., Kenneth William MacLeod (wife, Kimberly), Michael Howard MacLeod (Susan) and Donald Richard MacLeod (Lori); nine grandchildren and one great grandchild. Grandchildren are Anne, Zach, Matt, Rachel, Skye, Alex, Elizabeth, Eric and James MacLeod and great grandson Adam Lozano.

A visitation will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday, June 25, 2022 at Hill Funeral Home, 220 S. State Street in Westerville. She will be interred in a private family ceremony at Blendon Central Cemetery.

The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, please make a donation in her name to a favorite charity. 

The brothers remember her as a strong, intelligent and loving mother who managed an at-times chaotic household with grace, humor and equanimity. With four boys often attending different schools and involved in various sports and activities, she added taxi driver to the list of her skills and interests. Those included reading, painting, crochet, pottery, gardening, bird watching and, by the nature of living in a house with five sports nuts, attending football, basketball and baseball games along with swim meets. With the grandchildren soccer rose in prominence along with the other sports. Beyond sports, she always encouraged her sons to branch out, read, explore and do well whatever we endeavored. She and Al imparted a work ethic without ever having to discuss it. She abhorred showoffs and braggarts and was a master of understatement. She may not have fully appreciated the music or hairstyles her sons gravitated to but she picked her battles and won the war. Nothing made her happier than hosting large extended family gatherings as the MacLeod Clan grew and she earned every bit of our devotion.