KATHLEEN FITZSIMMONS LEIK
Kathleen Leik passed away on October 11, 2025, ending a long and happy life shortly before her 92nd birthday.
Kathleen Ann Fitzsimmons was born in Mandan, North Dakota on October 22, 1933. Many people knew her as Kathleen or Kathy, but her family and many others knew her by the nickname Bunkie, given to her by her proud father when she was born.
Her father, James R. Fitzsimmons, came from an Irish family in Malone, New York. He moved to Mandan in 1908 to work for his O’Rourke uncles in their grocery business, established in the Dakota Territory in the 1870s. Her mother was Mary Frances Hintgen, known to everyone as “May.” May was born in Saint James, Minnesota in 1895, to parents whose families immigrated from Luxembourg. She moved to Mandan in 1916 to work as a bookkeeper in her brother Jack’s store. Jim and May married in 1920 and had three children: Patrick, Mary Jean, and Kathleen.
Kathleen grew up in Mandan during the difficult years of the Great Depression. Both of her parents worked in the family grocery business. Her beloved sister Jean was a constant companion in those years. Her family lived in town, but owned a farm near the Missouri River southeast of Mandan where she loved to ride horses with her friends.
She graduated from Mandan High School in 1951. The next fall, she enrolled at the University of Colorado in Boulder, majoring in journalism. At the University of Colorado she met Tom Leik, a student from Casper, Wyoming. They fell in love and married in January 1953.
Tom and Kathleen moved to Fort Collins, Colorado so that Tom could pursue a degree in wildlife biology at Colorado A&M (now Colorado State University). They had their first child, Tom Jr., in Fort Collins in 1954. After Tom Sr. graduated from Colorado A&M, they moved to Casper, where Tom worked for Wyoming Game & Fish. They had two more children in Casper, Jim (1955) and Joan (1957). In 1958, they returned to Fort Collins so that Tom could attend graduate school at Colorado A&M. They had their fourth child, Laura, in 1959.
In 1959, Tom completed his Master’s degree and accepted a position with the Montana Department of Fish & Game (now Fish, Wildlife & Parks) in Helena. The family moved to Helena in 1960 and soon built a new house south of the capitol, with a backyard facing on the then-vacant hills and grasslands south of Winne Street. Their fifth child, Linda, was born in Helena in 1961. Kathleen was a wonderful mother to her young family. Being young herself, she was full of energy and fun. The family enjoyed camping near the Little Blackfoot River, skiing at Belmont, and fun times with their friends and neighbors.
In 1967, her life changed dramatically when Tom Sr. died unexpectedly at age 35. Faced with the need to support five children ages six to twelve as a single mother, Kathleen decided to return to college full time to get a teaching degree. She enrolled at Carroll College in the fall of 1967, and with incredible hard work and the support of her neighbors and friends, she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education in 1969.
She accepted a position with the Helena Public Schools teaching first grade at Bryant Elementary School, starting in September 1969. She taught in the Helena Public Schools for 29 years. She taught first grade at Bryant for nine years. For the next 20 years, she was a Resource Teacher, providing individual education to students at Rossiter, C.R. Anderson, and Smith Elementary Schools. Throughout her career, she had a passion for teaching reading. She developed innovative techniques to teach phonics and reading skills. She greatly enjoyed the challenges and rewards of teaching children who benefitted from her expertise in teaching reading.
She took great pride in the education profession and she formed lasting friendships with her colleagues. She was recognized as Helena’s Teacher of the Year in 1974, and in 1997 the Independent Record and her colleagues at Smith School recognized her as one of Helena’s outstanding teachers. She retired in 1998.
After her children were on their own, in 1986 she pursued a long-time dream to build a house in the country. She selected a 15-acre site and worked with her contractor to build a beautiful home overlooking the Ten Mile Creek valley. She loved her home, and she lived there until the end of her life. She kept her horses on her property, and she had a succession of English springer spaniels, ending with her springer Rena. She enjoyed watching the wildlife that shared her land and benefitted from its preservation under her stewardship.
Grandchildren started arriving in 1980, and great-grandchildren in 2006. Her grandchildren and great-grandchildren were an unending source of happiness to her. She loved spending time with each of them, sharing birthdays, holidays, and adventures. She took pride and joy in the accomplishments of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren in all endeavors. She enthusiastically attended their school programs, recitals, plays, and sports. Until her last years, she was on the sidelines cheering for teams that included her grandchildren or great-grandchildren, including the UW Husky crew teams (Zac, Marah, and Bede Clarke) and the Koon boys’ teams in Helena. She was always pleased and proud to attend her grandchildren’s graduations and weddings, and she loved getting to know her children’s and grandchildren’s spouses and their families.
Throughout her life, she loved the outdoors, especially the mountains, forests, and waters of Montana. She enjoyed horseback riding, rafting, canoeing, camping, skiing, hiking, and backpacking with her family. In her retirement, she joined her family in outdoor adventures throughout the West.
Kathleen and her family belonged to the St. Helena Cathedral Parish (1960-65) and St. Mary’s Parish (1965-86). When Kathleen moved to her new home in 1986, she returned to the Cathedral Parish. She found peace and strength in her faith and she cherished her place in the Roman Catholic community.
Her family is heartbroken at her departure from this life, but is eternally grateful to have been blessed with such a wonderful mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend. Her dedication to her family and her students is an enduring inspiration.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Thomas H. Leik, Sr., her parents James and May Fitzsimmons, her brother Patrick J. Fitzsimmons and sister-in-law Dolores Fitzsimmons, her sister Jean Brazda and brother-in-law Arthur Brazda, her father and mother-in-law Ted Leik Sr. and Margaret Leik, her brother-in-law Ted Leik Jr., her sister-in-law Sandra Leik Buck, and her nephews Tim Fitzsimmons, Jim Fitzsimmons, and Mark Leik.
She is survived by her sons Tom Leik (Donna) and Jim Leik, and her daughters Joan Leik (Jeff Lepley), Laura Jensen (Dale), and Linda Danforth (Luke); by her 12 grandchildren and their spouses, Kelly Koon (Brad), Ryan Leik, Annie Connole, Marah Connole (Kelby Fischer), Kevin Connole, Zachary Jensen (Allie), Caitlin Jensen (Brian Murphy), Jessica Clarke (Bede), Meghan O’Mara (Billy), Nathan Danforth (Pam), McKenzie Glass (Graham), and Amy Adamski (Aaron); and by 17 great-grandchildren (with two more on the way): Blake, Levi, and Cole Koon; Storra Fischer; Ellis Jensen; Liam and Rylan Murphy; Amabel, Jensen, and Charlotte Clarke; Grady and Daxton O’Mara; Evan, Emma, and Eli Danforth; and Willow and Acadia Glass. She is also survived by nine nieces and nephews: Robert Fitzsimmons, Steven Brazda, Lynn Halderman, Mike Brazda, Scott Brazda, Cindy King, Karen Kerns, Sydney Hester, and Whitney Ducaine, and their spouses, children and grandchildren; by her sister-in-law Bebe Leik; and by her treasured friend since their childhood in Mandan, Ruth Uden Green.
In lieu of flowers, her family would be grateful for donations to the Kathleen Fitzsimmons Leik Elementary Education Scholarship fund at Carroll College, or to the charity of your choice.
A funeral Mass will be held at the Cathedral of St. Helena at noon on November 25. Other arrangements are pending.
Service Schedule
Funeral Mass
12:00pm
Tuesday November 25, 2025
Cathedral of St. Helena
530 N Ewing Street
Helena, Montana 59601
Service Schedule
Funeral Mass
12:00pm
Tuesday November 25, 2025
Cathedral of St. Helena
530 N Ewing Street
Helena, Montana 59601
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Mary Kay Bennett says
What a wonderful woman!
The only member of the family that I knew was her daughter Joan..and I knew she had to have a special mother.
I am so sorry.
Vanessa Tolson says
Mrs Leik was a wonderful teacher! She taught my boys at Bryant and they both loved her! After they were grown and on their own if I met her in the store she would always ask how they were doing. Show was a very dear lady. Thoughts and prayers to her family.
Karen Fred says
Joan I was so sorry to read of your Mom’s passing. She was such a special lady! May all your wonderful memories help you through this difficult time.
jeff and melissa sherlock says
Kathleen was a wonderful person. I was her neighbor in the 1960’s and always admired her strength and resilience in facing life’s challenges. Peace to her family.
Tom/Judy Rolfe says
Kathy was a wonderful, compassionate educator, our daughter, Beth was so fortunate to have her as a teacher at Smith School. We will always remember her kindness and willingness to go the extra mile for kids. Our family sends our sincere condolences.
Mary French says
The French family sends love and sympathy on the loss of dear Bunkie. My parents, Eileen and Leo French, were lifelong friends of Bunkie’s. Eileen and Bunkie met as young girls in grammar school in Mandan, North Dakota, and stayed close all their lives. They shared a deep faith, so many laughs, and enjoyed great adventures together along with Ruthie Green and the other Jolsonettes. Bunkie was truly a gem of a person, and a wonderful friend to my mom and dad and our family. She’ll always be remembered with love.
Brian Johnson says
Mrs. Leik was my resource teacher at Smith Elementary School in the ‘90s and taught me how to read. She was always kind and supportive and helped me so much in my early educational years. I was fortunate to see her last year and got to tell her how grateful I was for all she did for me. She was such a wonderful lady. I am sorry for your loss.
Neil Connole says
Kathy, aka Bunkie, was truly a standout of a person in so many ways. I have known her for the last 47 years and have never known anyone sho didn’t hold her in the utmost respect. The hundeds and hundreds of students she had a profound influence on was undisputed. Teachers who got her students as they progressed in grades were noticeably more prepared in reading, learning, and confidence . She not only had a special connection with her students but also their parents. Kathy indeed made a difference! That’s how she influenced her entire extraordinary family.
Dee Turner says
I worked with Kathy at Bryant School all those many years ago. She was so positive, energetic and involved with the kids and staff members. After she left Bryant, we would often bump into one another on the street, in Safeway, at a community event, she was always so interested in my life, my goals, my work. We could chat for hours! Indeed, Kathy was a special woman. Her energy must be out there teaching every creature to read! God love ya’, Mrs. Leik.