Daisy Barron Leland

Daisy Woodside Barron Leland, 82, of Wadmalaw Island, SC, wife of Aaron Whitney Leland, entered into eternal rest on May 2, 2018. A service of worship and celebration of her life will be held at Johns Island Presbyterian Church on Saturday, May 5, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. The burial will follow in the church cemetery. A reception will be held immediately following the burial in the Fellowship Hall. The family will receive friends Friday from 4:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. in Henry Stuhr, Inc. Downtown Chapel.

Daisy was born on September 20, 1935 in Columbia, SC to the late Charles Henry Barron, Jr. and the late Nancy Woodside Harrison Barron. She graduated from Converse College in 1958. Being a fourth generation student, she was dedicated to her alma mater. Daisy's Converse involvement included Class Representative for twenty years and President of the Charleston Chapter in 1962. She served as First Vice president of the Alumnae Association from 1982 to 1985. Converse recognized her with the S.T.A.R. Award in 1982 and the Distinguished Alumna Award in 1986. She was also named as one of the Converse 100 Award Recipients during the College's centennial celebration.

As a longtime member of Johns Island Presbyterian Church, Daisy was a Sunday School teacher, Bible School director, youth advisor and a member of the Pulpit Search Committee. She served two terms as Elder on the Session and was named Elder Emeritus in 2012. She had been quite active in the Women of the Church. In 1991, Daisy was presented with an Honorary Life Membership in the Presbyterian Women of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). She was also a member of the Candidates Committee of the Charleston Atlantic Presbytery for two terms. As well, Daisy served on the Board of Trustees of Presbyterian Home of South Carolina from 1993 to 1998. She has also been a member of the Board of Advisors for Presbyterian Home for a number of years.

Daisy was a member of the teaching profession for 27 years, the last 22 of which were at Ashley Hall in Charleston, SC. She served as Head of the Middle School from 1974 to 1992. The students at Ashley Hall honored "Miss Daisy" with the dedication of the 1980 and 1992 The Spiral annuals and with a daisy garden on the campus of the all girls school in 1987. Daisy's colleagues at Ashley Hall gave her the Rosemary Nelson Hutto Award in 1988 for excellence in teaching. At her retirement in 1992, the students in grades 6, 7 and 8 planted three flowering trees in front of the Middle School building in her honor. In 1995 the school honored Daisy with the naming of the Daisy Barron Leland Award for Teaching Excellence in Mathematics and Technology. She was a dedicated administrator and teacher and took great pride in her work as well as much interest in her students.

Daisy's community involvement included memberships in the Junior League of Charleston, the Rebecca Motte Chapter of the DAR, and the Delta Kappa Gamma, an honorary education society. She was a charter member of the Sea Island Republican Club. As well, she served as a scout leader for Low Country Girl Scouts and was also a member of The Carolina Assembly and White Pond.

Daisy was a loving daughter, wife, mother and grandmother who loved nothing more than spending time with her family. She was affectionately known as "Grand Daisy" to her five grandchildren. She would often say that she went from teaching in the classroom to teaching in the fields of the family farm on Wadmalaw Island, Leland Farms, where her husband Aaron grew many crops, the favorite being strawberries. She loved tending to her yard and enjoyed arranging roses for many people and various functions from the garden her husband planted for her. In her later years, she began her card ministry from which she sent countless cards to family, friends and acquaintances to remember birthdays or to cheer them when sick. Daisy had a strong will to live and fought her illness with great determination and strength. She was a beloved child of God and there is nothing that brings her family more joy than knowing that she is now with her Lord and Savior in Heaven for eternity, well and full of life enjoying all that Heaven has to offer in the company of other family members who preceded her.

Her family is most grateful for all the loving care and attention Daisy received from her caregivers, Peggy, Debbie, Kathy and Eloise. They are also so appreciative of the faithful medical care and support that Dr. Sola Kim provided her.

Daisy is survived by her devoted husband of 56 years, Aaron; two daughters: Ellen Woodside Leland Wilhoit (Richmond) and Elizabeth Morrison Leland Puckette (Thomas); five grandchildren: Stephen Elliott Puckette IV, Richmond Thomas Wilhoit, Erin Whitney Puckette, Eliza Drayton Wilhoit, and Elizabeth Childs Puckette; and sister, Nancy Barron Smith. She was preceded in death by her brother-in-law, Watt Elias Smith II.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Johns Island Presbyterian Church Endowment Fund, 2550 Bohicket Road, Johns Island, SC 29455; Presbyterian Communities of SC Endowment Fund, 2817 Ashland Road, Columbia, SC 29210-5009; Ashley Hall for the Daisy Barron Leland Master Teaching Award, 172 Rutledge Avenue, Charleston, SC 29403; Converse College for The Mrs. Robert I. Woodside Music Award, 580 East Main Street, Spartanburg, SC 29302.