Christine M. Leavitt

Christine “Tina” M. Leavitt, 76 of Upton, MA passed away May 22 nd. She was born in Recife,
Brazil, to Thomas and Kathleen Kite, who were originally from England. Christine spent her
early years between Brazil, England and boarding school in Switzerland. She attended the
Chatelard School for Girls, an English boarding school outside Montreux in Switzerland. She
returned to Brazil to complete high school at the Escola Americana de Rio Janeiro and where
she would eventually meet her beloved husband, Kenneth R. Leavitt, who pre-deceased her in
2013 just days prior to them celebrating their 44th wedding anniversary. Tina had often shared
how she knew the moment she got into the taxicab for their first date that they would one day
get married. They shared many adventures throughout the world, lived in many places and had
a deep love for each other.

Tina’s father insisted she attend finishing school, so she returned to London after graduating
from high school. Shortly after however, while Ken was attending Dartmouth College, he
proposed to Tina over the phone. She returned to the US, where she lived with him for a brief
time in the all-male dormitory at Dartmouth College before getting married in State College, PA
in December of 1969. She continued her education, taking classes at Penn State and UNC
Chapel Hill. Tina and Ken returned to Brazil where she worked for American Express and Ken
worked for Bank of America. Tina and Ken were both early adopters of Maharishi’s
Transcendental Meditation practice and were teachers of TM alongside their professional
careers in their early years of marriage. Their first-born Walter, born in 1975 unfortunately
passed away at only a couple months old due to a heart complication. Shortly thereafter
Christine and Ken returned to the US permanently. Upon getting settled they were blessed with
3 more children. Christine took a hiatus from her professional career to raise her children. She
was a devoted mother, avid school fundraiser, had a beautiful singing voice, a skilled
seamstress and a talented decorator for the many homes that the family resided in and where
she hosted many parties and gatherings for Ken’s companies and their friends. Tina returned to
professional work once her kids were a little older, working at Telegroup, HR Soft and in the later
years alongside her husband Ken operating a small ski area they owned in Connecticut.
Throughout the years they lived in Silver Springs, MD, Groton, Dunstable, Harvard and
Sherborn, MA, Fairfield, IA, West Hartford and Middlefield, CT. In every move she always made
an inviting home. Tina was known for her big heart, witty humor, and desire to help those less
fortunate. She was a second mom to many during the middle and high school years where she
and Ken hosted exchange students from Brazil and South Africa. She spoke English,
Portuguese and French and always loved when she had an opportunity to help someone
struggling with a language barrier when out and about.

Survivors include her children, Benjamin K. Leavitt, wife Stephanie and daughter Audrey of
Melrose, MA, daughter Jennifer L. Tietjen, husband Garrett and daughter Caroline of
Kennebunk ME, daughter Vivian M. Leavitt of Upton, MA, Sister Valerie Kline of Jacksonville,
FL.

A celebration of life will follow in Jaffrey, NH at the family burial site at a later date.
Those wishing to make a contribution in her memory may make it to The David Lynch
Foundation, where it will be gratefully accepted.

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