Leonella Portmann

Leonella Portmann Leonella "Bunny" Portmann died at home on Tuesday, April 5, 2011, after a two month illness. She was born in Tacoma on April 16, 1920, the second of five children to William and Olive McCaffrey. She was named after Sister Leonella, a nurse at St. Joseph Hospital where she was born. She was nicknamed Bunny due to her birth near Easter. She graduated from Holy Rosary School, then Lincoln H.S. in 1938. At Lincoln she was active in sports especially swimming and diving, as well as the choir. She was a current member of the Lincoln Alumni Assn.. scholarship committee. After high school, Bunny went to work at the Tacoma News Tribune, first as a switchboard operator then as a bookkeeper in the accounting dept. She later worked at the Pierce County Auditor's Office in the election and auto licensing depts. In 1942 she married Gilly Portmann and they had two children, Mike and Teri. She was widowed in 2003 after 61 years of marriage. Bunny played golf at Meadow Park for 63 years, until age 89. She served as club president as well as president of the Tacoma Women's Golf Assn.. She was also a member of the Lakewood Orthopedic Guild, where she sold auto licenses at the Lakewood Country Store for many years. Bunny was a long time active member of St. Leo's Catholic Church and regular at the 5 o'clock Saturday Mass. She is survived by her brother, John McCaffrey, of Roselle, Illinois and children Mike of Tacoma, and Teri Marth (Greg), of Sumner, as well as grandchildren Katrina, Alicia, Peter, Serrina and Jonathan Marth as well as numerous nieces and nephews. A special thank you to MutiCare Hospice, and Catholic Community Services for their considerate care the last couple of weeks. Donations may be made to St. Leo's, or Catholic Community Services. Funeral Mass at St. Leo's, 710 S. 13th St., Tacoma, on Tuesday, April 12th at 12:10 p.m., Rosary will be recited at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, April 11, 2011 at Gaffney Funeral Home Chapel, interment Calvary Cemetery.