Sheryl Ann Leon

Sheryl was born to parents Rose and John Kovacs on February 2, 1943 in Chicago, IL. She grew up as the youngest of two. She married in 1962 and moved to the Mississippi Gulf Coast in 1965, which she always considered her true home.

Sheryl had three children. She was an avid tennis player and was a founding member of the Bayou Bluffs Tennis Club, even doing volunteer work to help create a tennis tournament benefiting the Association for Retarded Citizens. She was also active for years as a member of one of the Gulf Coast Mardi Gras krewes. After her divorce in 1980, she began working full time for the ARC and Gulf Coast Mental Health, beginning a career that spanned nearly three and half decades, retiring in June of 2017.

Sheryl is survived by her sons, John (Chris) of Gulfport, Scott of San Diego, CA, and Nick of New Orleans, LA; her brother, John Kovacs of Scottsdale, AZ; two grandchildren, Samantha and Cameron of Gulfport; and her crazy hurricane rescue cat, Napoleon.

An informal memorial service will be held at the Bradford O’Keefe Funeral Home on Pass Road in Biloxi on May 12 between the hours of 2 and 4 p.m. The family is grateful for the condolences, but in lieu of flowers, they would prefer instead that donations be made to the American Diabetes Association.

Arrangements entrusted to Neptune Society of New Orleans, 3801 Williams Blvd., Kenner, LA 70065. 504-464-3095.