Leslie L. Kleppe, 46, of Mishawaka, died Sunday December 11, 2016 in Boyne Falls, Michigan. The South Bend native was born June 29, 1970 to Laszlo "Les" Kincses & Patricia (Sayers) Kincses. Leslie graduated from Penn High School in 1988 and Indiana University in 1992; it was at IU that she met Keith Kleppe. Leslie travelled to England for student teaching and returned to marry Keith on February 20, 1993 in St. Pius X Catholic Church. Leslie was devoted to teaching and to children and became the founder, owner and Executive Director of East Bank Learning Center in South Bend, where she adopted the philosophy of "A childhood like no other" After starting a family of her own, Leslie began her lifelong journey dedication to serving children, just as she had dreamed about as a 1st grader sitting on Mrs. Anderson''s lap at Elise Rogers Elementary school. Leslie moved to Raleigh,NC to become a Teaching Parent at Haven House Group Home for Children. In 1995 Leslie was selected to travel to an amazing educational conference in Banff, Canada where she shared a presentation called "TEACH Your Children Well". Leslie returned to the South Bend community in 1998 and continued her work with children at The Family and Children''s center. In 2000 Leslie became the director of Growing Kids Learning Center and saw a career in Early Learning an opportunity to develop high quality teachers that she would entrust with her own young children. One teacher said "She looks too nice and the kids are going to eat her alive", it''s safe to say - they grossly underestimated Leslie. After establishing herself in the community as a Leader in Early Childhood Development, Leslie accepted a new challenge in 2006 when she became the Director at Madison Center''s - East Bank Day Care. Leslie''s passion and commitment transformed the operation as it earned NAEYC accreditation and was recognized for being the 1st early learning center in the state of Indiana to earn a 4-Star rating from Paths to Quality. For almost 20 years, Leslie''s leadership and commitment to education has positively impacted thousands of children and their families, along with community professionals and employees. Throughout all of Leslie''s amazing professional accomplishments, she also has raised 5 amazing children that deeply love her, admire her, and respect her.

The following comments are based on excerpts taken from Leslie''s prepared statement to families and staff at a 2011 Holiday Program:
Since I know all of your families I like to tell you about mine. My oldest son is Kyle and he was born in Chicago. Kyle attended Penn High School, worked hard at Knollwood County Club and The Finish Line, while also being nominated to Hoosiers Boys State for his character, leadership, and kindness. As Kyle graduates High School I remember the song "Don''t Blink" and it makes me wish I could freeze time. Luke was born in North Carolina and plays tennis, takes honors classes, and provides afterschool childcare to a local family with 2 small boys. Owen is my "baby" boy and was born in South Bend. Owen is a straight A student, loves putt-putt, and he''s my fuzz-ball for his fuzzy hair. Lastly, I have a set of twins, we were planning on one last try for a girland surpriseTwice as Nice! Having twins is when I learned I am not in control. Kelly & Julia were born pre-maturely and spent the 1st month of their lives in the NICU at Memorial Hospital. This was the most difficult time in my life and I thank the staff at Memorial. My dad taught me Hard Work, His name is Laszlo, but goes by Les and he came to America as a young boy during the Hungarian Revolution. He has worked almost his whole life at West End Bakery as a baker. My mother is Patricia, and after cutting hair for 30 years, went back to college and earned her degree from IUSB - she is my best friend! My older sister is Christy. She is a legal secretary and has helped me in many ways over the years. Lastly, my grandma Verna passed away this March, but I was lucky to have her for 41 years. She worked her whole life at South Bend Medical Foundation for 40 years and then Meijer on Grape Road until she was 80. My family taught me how to work and I want you to know all the people that support me so that I can do what I love. I love the Mark Twain quote - "the two most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why." My favorite speech can be found on YouTube - it is Steve Jobs 2005 commencement speech at Stanford. As Steve Jobs says "sometimes life''s going to hit you in the head with a brick. Don''t lose faith. I am convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You''ve got to find what you love and that is as true for work as it is for your relationships. Time is limited, so don''t waste it living someone else''s life. Steve Jobs loved the farewell message - "Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish" and that is what I wish for your children"Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish."

Leslie is survived by her husband, Keith Kleppe of Mishawaka and their children; sons, Kyle of Santa Monica CA, Luke of Bloomington and Owen of Mishawaka; daughters, Kelly and Julia of Mishawaka; her mother, Patricia (Rev. Kenneth) Mahan of Boyne Falls, MI; father, Laszlo "Les" (Jeanne) Kincses of Mishawaka; grandmother, Alice Kincses of Osceola; sister, Christy Sizemore of Mishawaka and nephew, Payton Sizemore of Mishawaka. She was preceded in death by her grandfather, Elek Kincses and grandmother, Verna Sayers. Mass of Christian Resurrection 11:00 Saturday December 17, 2016 in St. Pius X Catholic Church, 52553 Fir Rd, Granger. Visitation from 9-11 Saturday morning in the church. Arrangements through Chapel Hill Funeral Home, 10776 McKinley Hwy. The family''s preferred memorial is the T.E.A.C.H. Scholarship Program through the Indiana AEYC, 4755 Kingsway Drive, Suite 107, Indianapolis, IN 46205. To share a remembrance of Leslie or to offer condolences to her family, please visit www.chapelhillmemorial.com.