Helen Fraser Leavitt

Helen F.Leavitt, 92, of Silver Spring, MD, passed away on Monday, November 4, 2019.

She was born in Washington, DC to Joseph Fraser and Helen (Manley) Fraser in 1927. She graduated from Coolidge High School in Washington, DC with the Class of 1945. Following secretarial school she worked for the National Council of Churches and the US Air Force's Office of Special Investigations until marrying her husband, William, in 1958. She then became a homemaker and raised their two children. She returned to the workforce when the eldest child reached college age, first with the Peace Corps then as an administrative assistant to Dr. Wilton Dillon at the Smithsonian Institution's Office of Symposiums and Seminars. One of her favorite perks of the job was having an office in one of the towers of the Smithsonian Castle. After her retirement from the Smithsonian she focused on the hobby/second career as an antique glass dealer that she'd begun in the 1970s. Over the years she was also a Girl Scout leader, sang in her church choir, and was a lover of nature and of cats. She and her husband moved to the Riderwood retirement community in Silver Spring in 2006. She is preceded in death by her husband of 53 years, William E. Leavitt, in 2011.

She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Alexandra and Jon Evans, of Accokeek, MD; and son William F. Leavitt, of Fallston, MD.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Helen's name to The Central Union Mission, PO Box 96763, Washington, DC 20090-6763 or at donate.missiondc.org. Helen's family have been supporters of the Mission at least as far back as when her grandfather, Thomas Manley, volunteered there during The Great Depression.