Holly Forbes Leon, of Sudbury, died at home on February 28th, following a prolonged illness whose origin is attributed to a Lyme Tick infection that occurred during Thanksgiving, 2012. She was 89 years old. Born on May 21, 1929, her parents were J. Malcolm (Mac) Forbes and Ethel Cummings. She was born in Orlando, Florida, where her father was teaching at Rollins College. She was the oldest of five children; Joan Koponen, J. Malcolm (Jock) Forbes, Beryl Eddy (deceased), and Charles (Charlie) Forbes. Holly grew up in Cambridge, Mass., and graduated from The Shady Hill School in 1944, where she made friends that have continued to be close over all these years. She then graduated from The Putney School, in Putney, Vermont, in 1947, where she met her future husband, Gonzalo S. Leon. After a couple of years at Radcliffe College, Cambridge, she transferred to Barnard College in New York and received a BA in 1951. She married in 1950 on Naushon Island. The couple lived in New York until 1953. She taught at the Brierley School until they moved to Glastonbury, Connecticut, where her husband started his career as an engineer at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft. At that time, she began having children, a total of five: Paula Leon Roberts (deceased), Renata (Ren) Leon Davidson, married to Malcolm Davidson, Lydia Leon, Alexander (Alec) Leon and Michael Leon. She had five grandchildren: Gray and Kate Davidson, Eleanor Leon, Bennet and Colin Leon. Holly also leaves Alec's present wife, Peggy, and Lydia's partner, George Moffly. Bennet and his wife, Maria, have a three-year-old son, Alden, who is Holly's first great-grandchild. After her children grew up, she went to Boston College where she received a Masters Degree in Social Work, and for many years worked as a Clinical Social Worker in Early Intervention and with individual families. Throughout her life, she and her husband enjoyed travel, and explored many parts of the world, in the United States and Canada, Europe, Africa and South America. Holly was a talented and prolific artist. She painted in watercolors and oils, and did ceramic pottery. She privately published a couple of small books of watercolors relating to her extended family. She enjoyed music, had lessons on and played the piano and flute, and for many years after moving to Sudbury, MA, enjoyed singing madrigals, acapella, as an alto along with her husband and a group of about a dozen special friends, on an evening, every two or three weeks, at each other's home. (The last such gathering was on January 24). Besides her devoted husband of 68 years and her children, their spouses, grandchildren and great-grand, Holly has many very dear friends, and a large extended family of Forbes, Cummings and Leon cousins, all of whom loved her and grieve at this sad loss. At a later date, there will be a private memorial service for family and friends. Arrangements are under the care of Dee Funeral Home & Cremation Service of Concord.