Leeann Marie Yager (Kubiak), 59, of New Era, passed away peacefully in her home, with her loving husband and daughter by her side, after her two-and-a-half-year battle with Cancer.

Leeann was born on December 27th, 1965, to Lionel Kubiak and Claudis Soltis (Poremba), in Chicago, Illinois. She was raised in a Catholic home and attended St. Joe’s Catholic School in her elementary years. Leeann attended Gage Park High School for a period of time and graduated from Lyons Township High School in 1984.

In October of 1985, Leeann met Richard Yager (Montague native). They shared their first date of many on Halloween of 1985. The two quickly fell in love, and by the following year, September 6th, 1986, were happily married and due to welcome their first child. On January 29th, 1987, Leeann gave birth to their oldest child, daughter, Nicole Ann Yager. Shortly after Nicole’s birth, Leeann became pregnant again, with triplets. On October 31st, 1988, exactly three years after their first date, Leeann gave birth to triplet children, Zachary Richard Yager, Elizabeth Mae Yager, and Kenneth William Yager. The occurrence of birthing triplets without the help of fertility medications during that period in time was rare, and the triplets birth made its way into the local newspaper as a full-page article. On February 5th, 1990 Leeann gave birth to youngest child, Melissa Sue Yager.

In the early 1990’s Leeann spent many years working as a Teacher’s Aid for the Muskegon Heights Public School District, Leeann was also employed as a receptionist at a local gymnastics studio, where she proudly spent time watching her daughter Melissa excel in the sport. In 2013 Richard and Leeann settled their roots in New Era. Leeann enjoyed working at Wesco in Shelby, up until her diagnosis in early 2023.

There were many things that Leeann was proud of during her life. She was proud of her Polish Heritage (being ¾ Polish and ¼ Irish), a self-proclaimed “pollock”, when describing herself to family and friends. She took pride in her Chicago roots, it was a rare occasion to see her without some sort of fashion accessory displaying her support for “her” Chicago Cubs, Bears, or Blackhawks. However, her biggest pride and accomplishment in life was her family. She never missed an opportunity to boast about all of her five children, and how proud she was that four out of five were Active Duty in the United States Military (Marines, Army, Airforce, Army National Guard). She also regularly used all 10 of her fingers and toes to count out how many grandkids she had, giving her the beloved title of “Grandma”. At the time of her passing, there were 17 children who referred to her as “Grandma” with one more on the way.

Leanne’s favorite hobbies were fishing, watching her favorite sports teams on tv, attending Wheatland and the Irish and Polish music festivals, watching her grandkids play soccer, finding treasures at local thrift stores with her husband, and reading.

Her no-nonsense fiery spirit, ability to persevere with a positive disposition, and the pride she took in her family, will be greatly missed by her loving husband, children, grandchildren, extended family and her friends.

Leeann is survived by: her husband, Richard Yager; five children, Nicole (Scott Clark) Yager, Zachary (Riakay) Yager, Elizabeth (Eric) Aududdell, Kenneth (Yukari) Yager, Melissa (David Gonzales) Yager; 17 grandchildren, Jacob, Evelynn, Jessa, Morgan, Marshall, Vallieona, Annaleigh, Emily, Aubri, Joey, Jack, Niko, Lillian, Mae, Chelsea, Margaret, and Dallas; mother and step-father, Claudia Soltis (Poremba) and Kenneth Soltis; brother, Joseph Kubiak; sister, Robin Fowler (Kubiak); mother and father-in-law, Martha Collis (Barchak) and Roger Collis; sister-in-law’s, Karen Yagersmith (Yager), Bonnie Vandermolen (Collis); and brother-in-law, Scott Gant; life-long best friend Dawn Schmitz.

Leeann was preceded in death by: her father, Lionel Kubiak; maternal and paternal grandparents.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 3:00 PM, on July 26, 2025, at 2693 Beattie Road, Twin Lake, MI 49457.

Harris Funeral Home, in Shelby, is assisting with arrangement.

www.harrisfhome.com