OBITUARY FROM POST-TRIBUNE WEBSITE:

Leslie Lynn Stephens-Kotvasz, 59, of Portage, a longtime Hobart resident, passed away Saturday, November 4, 2023, at her daughter's home in Lafayette, Indiana after a long battle with cancer.

Leslie was born February 19, 1964, to Diane "Buzz" Zimmerman-Fleming and John "Pumper" Stephens in Gary, Indiana. Like her parents, Leslie was a lifelong Hobart fan, attending city events and Brickie games with her ever-present gusto. A 1982 graduate of Hobart High School, she was homecoming queen and a standout on the Brickie track and field team. She was a talented piano player who performed and loved music as she lived, loudly and with unbridled enthusiasm.

She loved to cook and to share her culinary talents. In 2010, after working at the Bon Femme restaurant in Merrillville, Leslie purchased the business and renamed it Ursuline's Kitchen. She expanded the original French cuisine to include Cajun and Creole dishes, adding the zest and spice flavor she loved and lived.

Friends could expect to see Leslie rolling through town on her motorcycle or joining any number of local groups for rides. She was also a devoted cat mom.

Leslie is survived by her sister, Cathy Stephens of Omaha, Nebraska, daughter, Rine Johnson McCarty, of Lafayette, and grandchildren Miles and Mariam. She was preceded in death by her parents.

Leslie was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Hobart.

The family will host a celebration of life and memory in her honor at 2 p.m. Saturday, November 18, 2023 at Cressmoor Country Club, 601 N. Wisconsin St., Hobart, Indiana.

Published by Post-Tribune on Nov. 9, 2023.

This information was obtained from: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/post-tribune/name/leslie-stephens-kotvasz-obituary?id=53543279. The picture above was obtained from the 1982 HHS Memories yearbook, made available by the Lake County Public Library, at: https://archive.org/details/HOHS1982Images/.