Hope Leeger Pinkerton

Hope Leeger Pinkerton, 96, of Yuma, AZ, passed away peacefully at home
on March 3, 2026 with her daughter Wendy by her side.

Hope was born June 23, 1929, in Brooklyn, NY, the daughter of the late Anna (Hellman) and
Leon Lichtenberg Leeger.

After graduating from high school,
Hope went on to the State University of New York, College at Buffalo earning a bachelor's
degree in Education, followed by a Master's degree in Speech-Language Pathology and a
Sixth-Year Administrator Certification from Southern Connecticut State University.

Hope worked in several school districts in New York and Connecticut before enjoying a long and
successful career in Speech-Language Pathology, Special Education, and Administration for the
City of Waterbury Board of Education in Connecticut. Hope also served as the Practicum
Supervisor for graduate students of Speech-Language Pathology at Southern Connecticut State
University.

Hope was a member of numerous professional organizations during her
distinguished career, including the American Speech-Hearing Association, National Education
Association, Connecticut Speech-Hearing Association (recording secretary and Distinguished
Service Award), Connecticut Education Association, Waterbury Administrators Association,
Council for Exceptional Children, and the Council of Special Education Supervisors.

Preceding Hope in death are her husband of 33 years John Pinkerton, her eldest daughter Joy
(Crespi) Liebeskind, her parents Anna (Hellman) and Leon Lichtenberg Leeger, her sister Vera
(Leeger) Lindbeck, and her brother
Ernest Leeger.

Remaining to cherish Hope's memory are her daughter Wendy Crespi Morgan of Yuma; her son
Tony Crespi (Cheryl) of Meriden, CT, and her six grandchildren: Tammy Frattini, Gary Sharlow
(Juliana), Jamie Beau Morgan (Aria), Cammi Mara Morgan (Ruin), Sarah Liebeskind, and
Joshua Liebeskind.

Hope added six step-children to her family when she married John: Jean Pinkerton Kelley
(Tom), Rick Pinkerton (Marianne), Suzanne Pinkerton Kostuck (Jim), Ken Pinkerton, Steve
Pinkerton (Dana), and Jay Pinkerton (Kathy), along with many step-grandchildren, and step-
great-grandchildren. She will also be remembered by her extended family of nieces, nephews,
sisters-in-law, and her many good friends in Yuma, AZ, where she has had a home since 1991,
and in Cheshire CT, where she lived for 56 years before becoming a full-time resident of Yuma
in 2018.

After Hope and John retired, they embarked on a shared dream to travel the United States in a
recreational vehicle, visiting all 50 states. It was on that trip that they discovered Yuma and
bought a second home.

Hope especially loved crocheting afghans to give to friends and family, gardening and flower
arranging, and watching the hummingbirds outside her kitchen window.

She also loved to look at the full moon. So it was especially meaningful that she passed during
the full moon at the end of the full lunar eclipse.

A private scattering of ashes will take place in the future near the Imperial Sand Dunes to honor
her wishes.

Memorial donations in Hope's memory may be directed to a charity of choice.

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