Through the late 1960s, many incoming freshmen waited patiently in a line that snaked through the University Health Service (UHS) building for a mandatory student chest x-ray.
As they wound to the top of the stairs, the students were greeted warmly by the veteran coordinator of the program, Wilma (Billie) Rose Leslie.
Leslie, who completed more than two decades of employment at U-M (1957-77) before her retirement, died March 7 in Port Charlotte, Fla. She was 83.
Dr. Robert Anderson, former UHS director, said he counted on Leslie and her team of employees and student workers to efficiently process the thousands of freshmen each fall.
“She was a people person, with a fondness for students,” Anderson said. “And her good nature and wit made her a nice person to work for or be around.”
Leslie was recruited by Dr. Barbara Threatt, director, at the opening of the Breast Cancer Detection Center on West Washington Street, co-sponsored by the University.
Thousands of women passed through the doors of the facility for an examination that could lead to breast cancer treatment and the saving of lives.
The slow pace on campus during the summer allowed Leslie to spend vacation and personal time at the family cottage at Baseline Lake in Dexter, Mich.
Leslie was born May 21, 1921, in White Oak Township, Mich., the daughter of Daniel and Grace Conklin Patrick.
In 1942, she married Clinton Leslie, the brother of her brother-in-law. He died in 1999. She was the last surviving sibling of a family of six girls and one boy.
Leslie is survived by her three sons, Gary, Port Charlotte; Kent, Sparks, Nev.; and Mark, Clarkston, Mich.; six grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
Memorial services will be at 11 a.m. June 2 at the Dixboro United Methodist Church in Ann Arbor.
Memorial donations can be made to Faith United Methodist Church, 12128 SR 52, Hudson, FL, 34669 or Dixboro United Methodist Church.
