Margaret Mary Leusch was born into a loving family in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1933. A happy childhood was crowned by education at Marygrove College in Michigan; upon graduation, she entered the convent that ran that institution, the Sister Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. She was a nun for twelve years and served as director of postulants.
Margaret Mary’s life was devoted to doing for others. She was a lifelong activist against the death penalty, and she worked many years for Prison Possibilities, a nationwide non-profit involved in prison reform and inmate rehabilitation. While living in New Mexico, Margaret Mary founded a daycare center for people with disabilities and the elderly. She moved to California in the 1990s, where she met her husband, David Rudolph.
In 2001, the couple moved from Palm Desert to the Idyllwild area, where they built their dream home in Pine Cove. Margaret Mary and David enjoyed 26 loving and fulfilling years of marriage together before her passing in early October. Margaret Mary worked with the Idyllwild Help Center, in addition to being active in fundraising for women’s education and performing with the vocal group Local Color. She was deeply involved with Idyllwild’s spiritual retreat Spirit Mountain, on whose board she served for almost two decades. Margaret Mary was a dynamic, caring woman who was loved by all who knew her. It may truly be said that she left the world a better place. Margaret Mary is survived by her husband, David, as well as by many nieces and nephews, five stepchildren, and five grandchildren.