There is a bridge that leads beyond
This world of time and space
Through a green and peaceful valley
To a lovely dwelling place
Where our loved ones find true happiness
And joys which never end
Across the bridge that leads beyond
The peaceful valley's bend.

— Leona F. DeMoss

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‘Music is love in search of a word'

Editor, The Leader:
With the passing of Leona DeMoss, the musical community of Livingston County and the community at large can mourn the loss of a good friend, loving example, dedicated performer and teacher, and one of the most positive ladies many of us have ever known!
How many of us experienced her loving, patient teaching as beginners at the keyboard; her encouragement as we progressed and her challenges to be creative and to excel as we advanced. More than one of us has gone into the professional musical world, but many more of us enjoy and appreciate music either as a hobby or as a listener because of her influence.
Leona has left us a heritage that we all must treasure. She was the personification of the saying, "Music is love in search of a word."

— Jerry Keck

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Obituary: April 29, 1987, Pontiac, Illinois, Daily Leader, p.8

Leona F. DeMoss, 85, 222 S. Chicago St., Pontiac, died at 4:14 a.m. today, Wednesday, April 29,1987, at Evenglow Lodge where she had been staying since April 16.
Her funeral will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 2, at the First United Methodist Church in Pontiac with the Rev. Marvin Barnes and the Rev. Gretchen Stinebaugh officiating. Burial will be in South Side Cemetery.
Friends may call from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday at the Duffy Funeral Home in Pontiac or after 1 p.m. Saturday at the church.
She was born Dec. 15,1901, in Pontiac, a daughter of Nelson and Cordelia (Miller) Fairfield. She attended grade school in Pontiac and was a graduate of Pontiac Township High School.
Mrs. DeMoss began playing the organ at age 18 for the First United Methodist Church and continued as organist there until she retired in 1984. She played the piano for Kiwanis Club for 40 years and also played at weddings and funerals. She taught voice and organ lessons for several years. She also was the accompanist for Randall Bramhall on WQPP radio in Pontiac during the 1940s.
She was a telephone operator for several years and worked as a nurse at the Livingston County Tuberculosis Center and Saint James Hospital.
She married James E. DeMoss on Nov. 24,1923, in Pontiac. He died April 21,1966. She was a member of the First United Methodist Church and the Rebekah Lodge. She was the vice president of the WSCS, a women's church organization. Mrs. DeMoss also wrote poetry.
Survivors include one daughter, Elizabeth Kraushaar of Madison, Wis.; two sons, William R. DeMoss of Idaho Springs, Colo., and James N. DeMoss of Omaha, Neb.; seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
She also was preceded in death by one brother.
The family suggests memorials to the First United Methodist Church of Pontiac.

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Into the life of every church there comes, from time to time, a person whose faith encompasses life in its totality. That vibrant quality of faith where smiles over power frowns, joy surpasses grief, hope defeats despair. The faith that mirrors in so many ways that in Christ "Death is swallowed up in victory." ... This kind of faith, so rare and so rich, is the hall mark of God in Christ. At our first hours, when we listen to hear the winds of God playing through the organ stops of tree leaves and pasture grasses, one might, in fancy, hear Leona yet at God's console playing -
"I've got peace like a river,
I've got peace like a river,
I've got peace like a river in my soul."

— Rev. M. Thomas Swantner

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Gentleness, kindness and love,
One upon the other,
Pressed into a heart of gold,
This was Mother.

Thoughtfulness for everyone,
Tender to spare,
A halo about her head,
God's love had placed it there.

A cheerful smile for those she loved,
A word of hope for all,
Thus she had prepared herself
For the Master's final call.

— Rev. Marvin Barnes