Leitha C. Gowdy, 92 of Aledo, went to be with her Lord and Savior on Thursday, June 18, 2026, at Overlook Village, Moline. Memorial services will be at 4 p.m., Monday, June 29, at the First Baptist Church, Aledo. A time of visitation and fellowship will follow services in the church fellowship hall. Private burial will be in the Aledo Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the Mercer County Athletic Boosters for the girl’s golf team or to Pregnancy Resources of the Quad Cities. Speer Funeral Home, Aledo, is assisting the family.
Born on March 22, 1934, in Columbus, Nebraska, to Harry Stephan and Alice Roosevelt (Baker) Moran, Leitha Carrie was one of 6 children. Her family moved to Hamlet, Illinois, when she was 6 and she graduated from Joy High School. Out of high school she became a stenographer for Modern Woodmen. Leitha and Billy J. Gowdy were married on March 7, 1954, and they farmed near Burgess their entire married life. After Bill’s death in 2008, Leitha moved into Aledo, where she resided until moving to Overlook Village in 2025.
Leitha loved her family and especially cooking for them. It wasn’t a family meal without her pies or homemade rolls. She was a talented seamstress and quilter, making many costumes, dresses, and quilts. Leitha loved to golf and was golfing still at 91 years old. Her other passion was playing and winning at Bridge. Leitha and Bill enjoyed their winters in Arizona. She also enjoyed researching her genealogy. Leitha was a dedicated member of the Grace Evangelical Free Church of Aledo. She lived with Jesus as the center of her everything, and her deepest prayer was that all her loved ones would know Him personally and make Him Lord of their lives.
Those left to cherish Leitha’s memory include her children, Doug and Theresa Gowdy, Denise Clark, and Anne Gowdy; grandchildren, Karyn and Corey Smith, Elizabeth and Chris Whitenack, Dawn and Josh Bull, Sarah and Thanh Pham, Jordan and Crystal Clark, Rebekah and Michael Foreman, Jeremiah and Rebecca Clark, Benjamin Troop, Joshua and Faith Troop, and Rachael and Tye Phillips; six step grandchildren; 29 great-grandchildren; 20 step great-grandchildren; two great-great-granddaughters; one step great-great grandchild and another lovingly expected; siblings, Harry “Kirk” Moran and Eva Einfeldt; and sisters-in-law, Joan Moran and Colleen Moran. Leitha was preceded in death by her parents; husband; son-in-law, Michael Clark; and siblings, Patsy Hines, Gilbert Moran, and Clyde Moran.