Frankie Jack “Jackie” Leake

Published 4:30 pm Monday, January 7, 2019

Frankie Jack “Jackie” Leake, known to her family and friends as Jackie and to her four grandchildren as Jack, passed away peacefully in her home on Sunday, January 6, 2019 at the age of 75.

A graveside service will be held at 4:30 p.m., Wednesday, January 9, 2019, at Autumn Oaks Cemetery in Orange, Texas.

Visitation will be from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Tuesday, at Claybar Funeral Home in Orange.

She was born in Henderson, Texas, on September 25, 1943. As a child, she was raised in Henderson, Victoria, and eventually moved to Orange where she lived the rest of her life. Jackie graduated from Lutcher Stark High School in Orange and later graduated with her Bachelor’s degree from Lamar University in Beaumont. In 1964, she married Arnold “Clem” Leake. They were married for 34 wonderful years until his passing in 1998. In 2004 she married Marvin Girdler until his passing in 2005.

Jackie began working at Firestone in the 1960’s and then began a career in teaching that spanned over 30 years. Though she briefly taught at West Orange High School, the majority of her teaching career was with Orangefield ISD where she taught elementary reading until her retirement in 2000.

Jackie was truly one of a kind. She was bold and fierce, and never shied away from a challenge. If you were her friend, you had her support, and she was always up to have fun with her friends. As a mother, she attended all of her daughters’ activities and truly enjoyed supporting their teams at sporting events. As a grandmother, Jack loved her grandchildren with all of her heart. They truly became her best friends throughout the years.

Jackie is preceded in death by her parents, Monnie and Edgnel Waldrop; husbands, Arnold “Clem” Leake and Marvin Girdler; and her only sibling, Charlotte Ann Holt.

She is survived by her daughters, Leslie Sparks and husband Shannon, of Orange and Lana Comeaux and husband Ronnie, of Pineland; grandchildren, Laina Sparks, Hayden Comeaux, Landon Sparks, and Hutch Comeaux; brother-in-law, Carroll Holt; niece, Caron Holt; nephew, Carey Holt; cousin, Linda Ardnt; friend and caretaker, Theresa Dorn; and a host of other friends who cared for and loved her.