Loving wife, mother and sister, Leslie Cordell, passed away in Spokane, Washington January 17, 2025, at age 76. She was born April 12, 1948 in Provo, Utah to Lynn and Kathleen Weight. She lived with her family in Provo until marriage. She graduated from Provo High School and continued her education at Brigham Young University, ultimately receiving a Master’s Degree in Speech and Language Pathology. She married Scott Taylor Cordell in the Salt Lake City Temple in 1970 and moved to Spokane, Washington in 1973. She lived and served in the community for over 50 years. She worked for 28 years as a Speech Language Pathologist for School District #81. She returned to work after retirement, teaching at Home Link Deer Park, and even continued tutoring after her second retirement in 2020. She was honored and loved by her students and coworkers alike.
Leslie was a dedicated member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and loved serving in many capacities, including Primary Teacher, Primary Chorister, Young Woman’s leader, and Relief Society president. She loved the church’s Girls Camp program and dedicated a full week of many summers there. She fulfilled a Service Mission with her husband and continued to volunteer weekly in the Spokane Temple until her passing. Her hobbies focused heavily in the performing arts; she performed with Spokane Civic Theater, directed large-scale productions for her church, including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and wrote and directed countless other plays, skits, and roadshows. She encouraged all four daughters to pursue dance at the Carol Lee Studio of Dance and overachieved in the role of “dancemom” for over 25 years. She taught theater classes for the studio, sewed costumes, and wrote and directed skits and plays, including the I Love Dance first place winner, Western Ham. She treasured fine art and loved both creating art and teaching art to others.
She is survived by four daughters: Vickie (and Jayson Burrie); Jackie (and Andrew Judd); Kasey (and Karl Woodard); and Jessie Chischillie; thirteen grandchildren, her sisters Jennilyn Weight and Lisa (and Dell Gardner), and her brother Lynn (and Heidi Weight). She is preceded in death by her husband Scott Cordell, and her father and mother, Lynn and Kathleen Weight. A funeral service will be held at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; 401 W Regina, Spokane, WA 99218 on Tuesday, February 11, 2025. The viewing will be at 9:00 am, the service at 10:00 am, followed by a graveside prayer at Fairmount Memorial Park, 5200 W Wellesley Spokane, WA.
Leslie was a beautiful woman, inside and out. She loved the Savior, Scott, her girls and family! (Just to start the list). I always feel grateful to her for guiding Kasey and helping her develop her own wonderful attributes, talents and testimony. She truly raised four amazing women! I loved sharing four of our grandchildren, Leslie had such a lovely way of embracing and engaging with each of them. I see many of her wonderful traits in her girls.She will be missed by so many, but never forgotten.
Till we meet again.
Vickie Woodard