Aletha Batch

Aletha Bell Howard Batch, *Aunt Leah* or Leah was born in Sumter, South Carolina to the late Rovena Salena Jenkins Howard and Henry Howard. Her ancestors include persons from the Mende in present day Sierra Leone and the Nuna people in present day Burkina Faso. The family moved to Clairton, Pennsylvania when she was a child. Leah lived in Clairton, nearby Elizabeth and Monongahela, Pennsylvania with her late husband, Robert M. Batch through most of her long life. She graduated from Clairton Public Schools and was enrolled for a short time at Benedict College in South Carolina. *In Pennsylvania, her employment included the U.S. Postal Service and as an insurance agent for North Carolina Mutual in Pittsburgh, PA. For a short time, while living in Washington, D.C., she was employed by the U.S. military to help decipher secret codes. *Leah had a long history of nursing the care of others, including her late niece, Zelma Ramos, father-in-law and mother. She volunteered with Handicapped Children*s Day Camp in McKeesport, PA and Allegheny County Meals on Wheels. As well as being a Girl Scout leader, she was a proud mentor and godmother to many young women. *Since her youth, as a devoted member of Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Clairton, she contributed to many committees, programs, served as an usher and sang in the Women*s Chorus. At 102 years old, she is the oldest member of the church and on her 100th Birthday Celebration, received several citations from the late Pastor William Callaway and church members. *Her full and active life included being a member and secretary at times of the Clairton chapter of The Phyllis Wheatley Club as well as being a member of other social clubs. Her hobbies included a love for gardening, having spent many hours as *a sister of the soil*, attending concerts, plays*.especially those of August Wilson and numerous events to support family and friends. *Leah passed from natural causes at Evergreen Assisted Living in Washington, PA. Her siblings: Jerralden, Henry Clay (*Squeaky*), Madeline, (Mattie Mae), Dorothy E., Kenneth L., and foster brother Nathaniel Bryant have all pre-deceased her. She is survived by her nieces, nephews,grand, great grand, great great grand nieces and nephews, cousins, many *god-daughters* and friends.

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Aletha Batch

September 25, 1919 - December 11, 2021