 
Her suffering ended with the day;
But when the sun, in all its state --James Aldrich
Leigh Ann Hensley
HOTLINE
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Leigh Ann
Modern day Athena with wild curls and red temper.
Unknowing provider of abundant joy to all
Life force that beats through my veins
All that is good and evil wrapped in one tiny, explosive, beautiful package of
All that I feel comes back somehow to her, my pride and joy,
Her strength, her incredible, unshakable, undeniable strength,
She is a miracle, she is Leigh, and I am thankful
-- Stephanie Hensley-Burney
I wrote the above poem a few years before we lost Leigh Ann and framed it and gave it to her as a gift the last Christmas we spent together. I had no way of knowing that just five short months later, I would be having these same words printed on memorial cards for her funeral. It isn’t the natural order of life for an older sister to have to choose a casket in which to bury her baby sister. But she was stolen away from us in an unspeakable act of domestic violence, and so my older sister and I were forced to do just that, plan her funeral. We lost Leigh on a Tuesday and for several days afterward, time stood still and none of us were able to look forward, to see a life without her in it. We didn’t want to see it. Since the day she was born, I felt it was my job to protect Leigh Ann from harm, especially as she grew older and faced the darkness of this world. Ultimately, I failed and now all I have left to protect is her memory. That’s why I contacted the wonderful people at Women Are Safe on the first anniversary of her passing in 2003 about establishing this memorial fund in her honor. Our lives have gone on, full of grief and sadness, but only with God’s merciful help. And through this fund, we pray that God will be able to help other women like Leigh who are stuck in the vicious cycle of domestic violence. If one woman, one child, one family can be helped by this fund and spared the agonizing pain and despair that our family endures every day, then Leigh Ann’s life did not end in vain. In fact, with this fund, her life and her courageous spirit will go on. And through generous donations to it, a loving legacy of kindness and compassion will be created in her memory. This will truly ensure that although she may be gone, neither she nor her heart will ever be forgotten. Thank you for visiting her page, sharing her with us and for donating, if you choose to do so. The dollar you give may mean a life someone else gets to live. May God bless and keep you.
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My Daughter
She was both fierce and very vulnerable, she was sunlight and shadow, proud and ashamed, very generous and giving, or withdrawn and selfish. She was very smart and made the “A” honor roll most of her way through school. She was so funny at times and so very depressed and sad at others. She had a smile that you couldn't see through. She was full of potential but had little confidence in herself, which seemed to draw her to the wrong kind of friends. This led her to “L.”, her abuser. They were quite in love with each other in the beginning. He could be very endearing at times and was greatly responsible for her love of the outdoors and hunting. He taught her a great deal in that area and it became her passion. But as good as he could sometimes be, there was another side to him. One that was scary and vicious and dangerous. But by the time she knew, it was too late to get out. Leigh Ann had been saved and baptized when she was 10 years old, so when things began to get rough with him, we would try to get her to come home and go to church. She kept putting it off. But we continued to pray and on Mother’s Day of 2002, she had made up her mind to come to the Mother-Daughter banquet at church with me the following Saturday and to the Sunday service on Mother’s Day. But her boyfriend made sure she never got the chance. The Monday before, she left him and came home and told her Daddy that when he called, to please tell him to leave her alone. That was Monday and on Tuesday afternoon, he got behind her on her way to work in Mt. Pleasant, a county away. He tried to run her off the road all the way there, and then he followed her into the parking lot at her job. He pulled out a gun and shot our precious little girl. Then he took his own life. Hers ended several hours later in a hospital trauma unit surrounded by her family. There are really no words to say how her death has affected us. We miss her more all the time. She is buried near our home so her Daddy goes everyday without fail to visit her. So much of our lives were spent thinking about her or seeing about her, or waiting on her to come home. We still hardly know what to do without her. We miss her. Mom, (Carolyn Hensley) A Father’s View Of Leigh Ann Hensley We were already the proud parents of two beautiful daughters and on Feb. 21,1979, God gave us Leigh Ann. She was as yellow as a gourd with jaundice when we brought her and mom home from the hospital so we put her in her crib in front of our living room window to get the rays from the sun. Her little skin cleared up and was smooth and beautiful in a few days. All of our girls are different in their own unique ways. “Lil’un”, as I always called her, had a mind of her own. She had no trouble at all telling you what she thought.
On Tuesday evening, May 7, 2002, Leigh Ann was getting ready to go to work. Her Mom had packed her dinner for her in a Wal-Mart bag and Lil’un asked if it was appropriate. She came over to me where I was sitting, shook her bag at me, said, “What do you think, Dano, is this appropriate?” I laughed and said, “You got it”. We went to her car and she hugged me and gave me a kiss and got in. As I stood and watched, she waved her little arm out the sunroof and said, “Bye Dad, love you, see you at 10:30.” I said, “Love you baby.” At 3:36 p.m. we got the call that she had been shot. We lost Leigh Ann that afternoon and our lives were changed forever in the twinkle of an eye. My daily visits to the cemetery might help some. I guess that because I could never be a perfect provider for my girls and Carolyn, it was hard for me to see or admit to any bad judgments they made that put them in danger. But please, don't be so concerned about pleasing your kids that you are blinded to what’s going on in their lives. We miss Leigh Ann more than anything. I pray everyday for forgiveness for the way I failed her, her sisters and their Mom. I Love You Leigh Ann. ~ Dad, (Danny Hensley) My Friend
Leigh Ann would be so thankful that there is an organization like this one that is helping to give women a second chance at life, a chance to start a new life, one without fear. Words cannot express how Leigh Ann has impacted my life in such a good way. I thank the Lord for letting me get to know her in the way I did. Until we meet again in Heaven, her memory will live through me always.
Love, My Niece
On the day that Leigh Ann passed away, our family lost one of its most beautiful parts. She was a beautiful, freckled-faced, lively young woman who loved life and her family. Leigh Ann was quiet around some people, but if she was comfortable around you, she would open up and the real Leigh Ann would come forth. She and I had a relationship that was different from most, we would kid around and act crazy with each other. I remember one weekend we went over to see her mom and dad and she was there at the time. She had recently bought a new car and she asked me if I wanted to drive it, so we got in and took off. We rode around with the windows down,
Leigh Ann had gone through so much in her short life, things that none of us ever knew about and things that we ourselves would never want to experience in our life. But if you weren't her immediate family, you would never know the pain and hurt that she was going through because she would never let you see the hurt or the pain. Leigh Ann looked just like Danny, her dad, and also had ways like him, but then on the other hand, she had the gentle, loving ways of her mom, Carolyn. She could be very outspoken but in a second, she was so caring. I know without a doubt that she had a heart as big as could be and sometimes I really think that part of her came from my very own dad, whom she loved so much. When he passed away, part of her went with him, but every now and then he would come out in her. As long as we live, we will never be able to understand why she was taken from us at such an early age. We all expect to live until we are old. God has his plans for us and we aren't supposed to question his wisdom in these things. But we will never forget this bright eyed, lively, young woman who was in our lives for such a short time, and she will always remain in our hearts and minds. It makes me feel so much better knowing that she is up in heaven looking down at us and along side of her is my dad and her grandfather, Willard Hensley, and her other grandfather Bill Bower, Carolyn's dad. I have learned from her death that life is so short and you never know when yours will end. So everyday I try to live life to the fullest and I cherish my time with my husband, with my kids and my two wonderful granddaughters. I know that Leigh Ann would want it that way and just knowing she is always with me makes me a stronger person and I want to live life to the fullest for her and my family. We love you Leigh Ann. You will always be with us.
Love, Aunt Brenda
The Secret River Well, when we went to the secret river, sometimes we would play, sometimes we would fish or we would drink root beer. We would write on the wall of an old bridge. I wrote that aunts were fun to play with. She wrote “Lee Lee loves Bob Bob”, her boyfriend when I was little. One talk we had there was about Beau and I told her it was nice having him for a cousin and she said it was nice having two sisters like Hope and Stef. She told me that she loved me as well as the rest of our family. I love you Aunt Lee Lee, Your niece, Beth (10 years old) Remembering A Sister When asked to write this, I really didn't know if I could. I can remember growing up with Leigh Ann and my other sister. Each of us had our own unique personality. Let me tell you a little bit about my baby sister. Her days were spent on a riverbank waiting for that monster catfish or in the woods nestled up in a tree-stand waiting for that trophy buck, which she did get. She was an outdoors type of person and loved it very much. Leigh Ann was also outspoken. If you wanted to know the truth about something, she would sure tell you. But she had a very kind heart. Leigh Ann worked for a physical therapist in our hometown. While there, she met a lot of people in this small community. By working there, she also touched many lives and hearts.
I can remember taking my sisters with me to town and riding around on the weekends and just having fun together. Once you get older and start having your own families, it seems as though you don't see as much of each other and don’t say “I love you” as often as you should. I just wish I could have told her more often because you never know when something is going to happen. If I could say anything about my sister and describe her to you, I would have to tell you she was a free spirited person who loved life and lived it as SHE wanted to. All I know is I miss my sister very much and if I had one day to be with her again, I would tell her how much I miss her and that I love her. If you ever get in the type of situation Leigh was in, an abusive relationship, please get out of it while you can. Maybe by telling someone about it or just leaving. I know that losing a loved one to domestic violence is not the way to go because there is help out there. Organizations like Women Are Safe, who has so generously helped our family cope with this loss. Leigh Ann may not be with us anymore but her memory is and as long as we have that and her beautiful smile, she will live on in our hearts and minds. We, her family, were all at her bedside the night that she passed away. Still to this day it seems like a dream to me. I guess because I am the oldest of three and God took her and she was the youngest of us. For some reason, this just doesn't seem right because the first to go should be the oldest and it didn't happen that way. I guess God knew what he was doing when he picked her for his flower garden.
I Love You,
She is not dead, the child of our affection,
Day after day we think what she is doing
Not as a child shall we again behold her;
But a fair maiden, in her Father’s mansion, --Adapted from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow |
Leigh Ann was born third in a line of three daughters. She was the absolute love of our lives and her sisters’ lives for a few years. She soon developed an attitude as a preteen, which is common. She had grown a mass of auburn and strawberry blonde curls, had a slight build and was beautiful, with just the right amount of freckling across her nose. She had my grin and coloring. But other than that, she was the image of her father. She often joked about how Danny and I being just the opposite of each other caused her to have such contradictory natures. She was a study in opposites. 
Leigh Ann was smart in school and would try to do anything her sisters did. I traveled a lot when she was young so Mom had to be Dad and Mom both to our girls. But I called home every night at 6:00 p.m. and talked to Carolyn and the girls. We had a lot of good times and a lot of bad times but the love was always there. Leigh Ann was spoiled and proud of it. She would call us on her phone from her room down the hall and tell us what she wanted for breakfast and one of us would beat a path down the hall to take her what she wanted.
When I was home on the weekends, all three of the girls would come get in the bed with us. We all laughed and called it our family bed. Just a few nights before Leigh Ann left us, she came in late one night and came to our room and got in the bed between her Mom and me. We had our group hug and laughed.
From the moment I meet Leigh Ann she was someone I admired. Her strength and courage were impeccable, qualities that to this day I wish I had more of. She had the heart of an angel. There was never a time that I needed her when she wasn’t there. She had a sense of humor that was nonstop and could turn a frown to a smile with a quick sentence or two. I always looked up to her for her ability to hunt and fish. She was a girl that did not care to get dirty and had the knowledge to take off on her own and go hunting or fishing without anyone to help her or tell her what to do. She was a true outdoors "woman", a real pro. She was very self-sufficient. I will never forget when she harvested her trophy buck, a nine-pointer. That was such a milestone in her life and she felt it was one of her greatest accomplishments. 
the music cranked up and we talked and laughed the whole time we were gone. That will be a day that will always be imbedded in my mind. That was our time to be together, just the two of us. It was such a short time but it was a time I will always cherish and remember.
She always wore a smile on her face no matter what the trouble was or if she had a problem. She was very smart at everything that she did in what little time she was on this earth. No one will ever know how much she is missed by her family and friends and especially her nephew and niece, my daughter and our sister’s son, who is named after her and had just turned two years old five days before we lost her. Although she didn't get to spend much time with either one of them before her life was ended, she made a huge impact on her niece’s heart. There are times when she will hear it thunder or see it lightning and say to me, “Mom, Aunt Lee Lee is bowling" or "She is playing with the light switch.” This is her way of dealing with this tragedy. She talks of Leigh Ann quite often, as we all do.
