Office Hours: Monday – Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Calls outside of office hours? No worries! Our team will respond within 10–15 minutes.
Services
Friends may gather for Memorial Visitation with the family at Powerhouse Christian Church, 500 West Main Street, Suite 200, Wyckoff, NJ, on Friday, September 2, 2016 from 4-8 PM.
A Funeral Service will be held on Saturday, September 3, 2016 at 11:00 AM at Powerhouse Christian Church.
Ritha Leon, age 70, of Bloomingdale, entered into the loving arms of her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Monday, August 22, 2016.
Ritha was born in Boucan-Carre’, Haiti. As a single mom, she raised her two sons and three daughters in Haiti and always kept two life principals in mind – work hard and trust God in all things. When her children would tell her about opportunities for socialized help she would always say “We don’t need handouts. God knows our needs and he will supply them abundantly beyond anything we can imagine.” Ritha used her God-given talents as a seamstress to carve out a living. She enjoyed a very excellent reputation and ran her dress-making business out of her home so she could always be there for her kids. Never needing a store-bought pattern, you could simply show her a picture of a dress out of a magazine and she would make it for you, exquisitely! There were times growing up in Haiti, when Ritha was forced to send her children to school with no food in their stomachs because she had none to give them. She’d always find a way to provide, sometimes by selling a dress and other times by taking a loan. Then she’d cook some food and bring it to the school, which had no cafeteria, to feed her kids during their breaks. As with any family, dinner time was a wonderful opportunity to gather together and it was always a treat for Ritha’s family to enjoy her excellent meals. She was an amazing cook who could take a few meager ingredients like rice, water, garlic and a little oil and serve the most delicious dinner! Her fried eggs, which she loved to prepare for her grandchildren, were like anything you ever tasted, and On New Year’s Eve, her family always enjoyed the tradition of smelling delicious pumpkin soup simmering on the stove and gathering as family and friends on New Years Day to enjoy a hot steaming bowl. Ritha always cooked with love and passion, just like everything else she did in her life.
Ritha had two main passions in her life: praying to God on behalf of those in need, and enjoying her family which was God’s greatest gift to her on earth.
In Haiti, Ritha had a thriving, established prayer ministry and she would intercede on behalf of countless souls who would come to her with the concerns of their lives. It says in the bible that if you have faith as tiny as a mustard seed, you can move mountains. That’s a hard concept for most people to embrace because we all think we have to do everything on our own power. But not Ritha. While she believed in hard work, she also knew that there were always going to be situations that hard work alone would not solve. That’s where Ritha’s faith that God could move mountains came in. So if you had a need, you asked for Ritha’s prayers and many people did.
Through the ensuing years, all of Ritha’s five children emigrated to the United States in search of the American dream. It was in 2005 that her daughter Guerda was planning to get married and she so-much wanted her mother Ritha to be present for the wedding. But Guerda and her brothers and sisters also wanted Ritha to stay in the USA and join the family permanently. Guerda prayed that God would make it possible for Ritha to carry on her prayer ministry while living in the states. God answered Guerda’s prayer even overcoming obstacles like getting her mom a visa. So in 2005, Ritha emigrated from Haiti to the United States. She got to be present for her daughter’s wedding and she got to stay, living initially in East Rutherford before moving to Bloomingdale to be with her daughter Chama in 2011.
Ritha’s telephone prayer ministry continued to thrive. Her children and grandchildren knew there was no sense in trying to call her between the hours of 7:30 PM and 3:30 AM because they wouldn’t get through. During those hours, Ritha was on conference calls, praying and singing with people, encouraging them to “Take courage because God is mighty!” Her incredible faith in God was inspiring to countless souls who, through her prayers, were delivered from sickness, broken relationships, able to conceive a child, and have their daily needs provided for.
Ritha had no problem putting the needs of others ahead of her own needs and wants in life. She embraced the words in the Holy Bible which say Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal; for where you treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:19-21, New American Standard Version). She considered being a child of God more important than anything that her present life in this earthly existence could offer her. So it wasn’t unusual at all for Ritha to take money she received as a gift and just re-gift it to someone who actually needed that money more by wiring it to a friend or someone she prayed with on the phone in Haiti. In like manner, if you complimented the dress she was wearing or something else that Ritha had, her typical response would be “Would you like to have it?”
Ritha loved her family and was all too glad to be in the USA where she could enjoy her grandchildren. She enjoyed spending time with them, loving them, praying for them and encouraging them. She truly believed that love conquered all. If you could imagine the perfect mother-in-law, you would be imagining Ritha. It’s no secret to her daughter-in-law and her son-in-laws that if Ritha’s own children occasionally complained to her about their spouses, her response would always be “It must be your fault. You need to love on them!”
Ritha never met a person she did not like. Quite the opposite, she never found a person she could not help but love. She’d tell perfect strangers that she loved them because they were image-bearers of God and, not very long into a conversation, she’d be sure to ask you, “Do you know Jesus?” Even on her death bed she didn’t want her family to feel sorry for her knowing that what they saw was not her. Her new body would be glorified and she praised God with her hands lifted high to the very end, knowing that this life was just a precursor to a much better life and not the end at all!
Ritha is survived by her five loving children: Jean David and wife Sabine Alexandre of Bellmore, NY, Guerda and husband Timothy Prairie of Hume, CA, Jephethe Alexandre of Carlstadt, Chama Alexandre and husband Willie Barnes of Bloomingdale, and Marlie Alexandre of Belleville; and eight adored grandchildren: Nadia, Ritha, Willie, Jr., Coleson, Paige, Joya, David, Jr., and Wilson.
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends may gather for Memorial Visitation with the family at Powerhouse Christian Church, 500 West Main Street, Suite 200, Wyckoff, NJ, on Friday, September 2, 2016 from 4-8 PM.
A Funeral Service will be held on Saturday, September 3, 2016 at 11:00 AM at Powerhouse Christian Church.
Services
Friends may gather for Memorial Visitation with the family at Powerhouse Christian Church, 500 West Main Street, Suite 200, Wyckoff, NJ, on Friday, September 2, 2016 from 4-8 PM.
A Funeral Service will be held on Saturday, September 3, 2016 at 11:00 AM at Powerhouse Christian Church.
Ritha Leon, age 70, of Bloomingdale, entered into the loving arms of her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Monday, August 22, 2016.
Ritha was born in Boucan-Carre’, Haiti. As a single mom, she raised her two sons and three daughters in Haiti and always kept two life principals in mind – work hard and trust God in all things. When her children would tell her about opportunities for socialized help she would always say “We don’t need handouts. God knows our needs and he will supply them abundantly beyond anything we can imagine.” Ritha used her God-given talents as a seamstress to carve out a living. She enjoyed a very excellent reputation and ran her dress-making business out of her home so she could always be there for her kids. Never needing a store-bought pattern, you could simply show her a picture of a dress out of a magazine and she would make it for you, exquisitely! There were times growing up in Haiti, when Ritha was forced to send her children to school with no food in their stomachs because she had none to give them. She’d always find a way to provide, sometimes by selling a dress and other times by taking a loan. Then she’d cook some food and bring it to the school, which had no cafeteria, to feed her kids during their breaks. As with any family, dinner time was a wonderful opportunity to gather together and it was always a treat for Ritha’s family to enjoy her excellent meals. She was an amazing cook who could take a few meager ingredients like rice, water, garlic and a little oil and serve the most delicious dinner! Her fried eggs, which she loved to prepare for her grandchildren, were like anything you ever tasted, and On New Year’s Eve, her family always enjoyed the tradition of smelling delicious pumpkin soup simmering on the stove and gathering as family and friends on New Years Day to enjoy a hot steaming bowl. Ritha always cooked with love and passion, just like everything else she did in her life.
Ritha had two main passions in her life: praying to God on behalf of those in need, and enjoying her family which was God’s greatest gift to her on earth.
In Haiti, Ritha had a thriving, established prayer ministry and she would intercede on behalf of countless souls who would come to her with the concerns of their lives. It says in the bible that if you have faith as tiny as a mustard seed, you can move mountains. That’s a hard concept for most people to embrace because we all think we have to do everything on our own power. But not Ritha. While she believed in hard work, she also knew that there were always going to be situations that hard work alone would not solve. That’s where Ritha’s faith that God could move mountains came in. So if you had a need, you asked for Ritha’s prayers and many people did.
Through the ensuing years, all of Ritha’s five children emigrated to the United States in search of the American dream. It was in 2005 that her daughter Guerda was planning to get married and she so-much wanted her mother Ritha to be present for the wedding. But Guerda and her brothers and sisters also wanted Ritha to stay in the USA and join the family permanently. Guerda prayed that God would make it possible for Ritha to carry on her prayer ministry while living in the states. God answered Guerda’s prayer even overcoming obstacles like getting her mom a visa. So in 2005, Ritha emigrated from Haiti to the United States. She got to be present for her daughter’s wedding and she got to stay, living initially in East Rutherford before moving to Bloomingdale to be with her daughter Chama in 2011.
Ritha’s telephone prayer ministry continued to thrive. Her children and grandchildren knew there was no sense in trying to call her between the hours of 7:30 PM and 3:30 AM because they wouldn’t get through. During those hours, Ritha was on conference calls, praying and singing with people, encouraging them to “Take courage because God is mighty!” Her incredible faith in God was inspiring to countless souls who, through her prayers, were delivered from sickness, broken relationships, able to conceive a child, and have their daily needs provided for.
Ritha had no problem putting the needs of others ahead of her own needs and wants in life. She embraced the words in the Holy Bible which say Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal; for where you treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:19-21, New American Standard Version). She considered being a child of God more important than anything that her present life in this earthly existence could offer her. So it wasn’t unusual at all for Ritha to take money she received as a gift and just re-gift it to someone who actually needed that money more by wiring it to a friend or someone she prayed with on the phone in Haiti. In like manner, if you complimented the dress she was wearing or something else that Ritha had, her typical response would be “Would you like to have it?”
Ritha loved her family and was all too glad to be in the USA where she could enjoy her grandchildren. She enjoyed spending time with them, loving them, praying for them and encouraging them. She truly believed that love conquered all. If you could imagine the perfect mother-in-law, you would be imagining Ritha. It’s no secret to her daughter-in-law and her son-in-laws that if Ritha’s own children occasionally complained to her about their spouses, her response would always be “It must be your fault. You need to love on them!”
Ritha never met a person she did not like. Quite the opposite, she never found a person she could not help but love. She’d tell perfect strangers that she loved them because they were image-bearers of God and, not very long into a conversation, she’d be sure to ask you, “Do you know Jesus?” Even on her death bed she didn’t want her family to feel sorry for her knowing that what they saw was not her. Her new body would be glorified and she praised God with her hands lifted high to the very end, knowing that this life was just a precursor to a much better life and not the end at all!
Ritha is survived by her five loving children: Jean David and wife Sabine Alexandre of Bellmore, NY, Guerda and husband Timothy Prairie of Hume, CA, Jephethe Alexandre of Carlstadt, Chama Alexandre and husband Willie Barnes of Bloomingdale, and Marlie Alexandre of Belleville; and eight adored grandchildren: Nadia, Ritha, Willie, Jr., Coleson, Paige, Joya, David, Jr., and Wilson.
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