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Scroll down to the bottom of this page to read Leta's obituary written by her former editor at the Capital Journal, Dana Hess, which appeared the in paper.
It is with deep sadness to note the passing of Leta Nolan Childers on Oct. 27, 2006
Leta was a pioneer in e-publishing and will be missed by everyone at DiskUs Publishing,
her fellow writing friends and her fans.
If you'd like to add a note to Leta'sMemorial Page, please send it directly Marilyn
and we'll add it to her page. marilyn @ diskuspublishing. com (take out spaces)
Marilyn Nesbitt: Publisher
DiskUs Publishing
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Leta Childers did more for early e-publishing than most publishers did. She had a talent for knowing
trends in the publishing world and was a whiz at writing a book that everyone loved to read.
She inspired new authors and was always ready to lend a hand when someone asked for her help with any
type of problem. During the early years at DiskUs, Leta was webmaster and a genius at formatting our
ebooks for some of the new formats. She and I also hosted a chat on Thursdays for anyone who wanted
to learn more about epublishing.
But most of all, Leta Childers was one of my true friends. She gave me encouragement when I needed
it most and I will treasure the time we were friends. I will miss Leta and her talent and her humor,
but most of all I will miss my friend. She will be truly missed by all.
Marilyn Nesbitt: Publisher Diskus Publishing
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Leta was one of the first authors who submitted to DiskUs Publishing and also one of the very
first authors published through DiskUs Publishing. I had the pleasure to edit her work which
was near perfect. Her books were the work of a professional and I will miss Leta and her talent.
She was a wonderful author.
Joyce McLaughlin: Editor DiskUs Publishing
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Leta had a way with words. Her books were so good that the reader wanted to keep reading. I got hooked with
The Best Laid Plans a couple of years ago just out of curiosity because it was the best selling ebook and
had to purchase the second one because I enjoyed the first one so much. Her wit and humor in her writing made
her one of my favorite authors. I have ready every one of her books and loved them all.
The world has lost a truly great writer and she will be missed by everyone who knew her or read her books.
Candi Michaels: Author at Diskus Publishing
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I was a pallbearer at Leta's funeral that was held yesterday in Pierre, South Dakota.
In fact, I was a pallbearer at her father's funeral as well, around eleven years ago.
I am a friend of Leta's and her husband Les. Leta treated my daughter and I as one of
the family. She and I worked together in the early and mid 90's at the Capitol Journal in
Pierre. I was a photographer at the paper and she and I worked together on many stories.
I believe I became a better photo-journalist by working with Leta.
Leta was an incredible person, with a great sense of humor,and had a great love of
animals. What I loved most about Leta is how positive of a person she was in life. She
rarely had a negative comment about anyone. To me, that is rare these days.
I was lucky enough to be around Leta when she first started talking and working,
at the time, this "strange" concept called e-books. It was exciting to be around her
and this new venture at the time. She won many awards in writing and deservedly so.
I hope whoever reads this takes the opportunity to read her books. I'm glad that I
was given a chance to be a part of Leta's life.
Michael Lyon
Friend and fellow movie lover of "Truly, Madly, Deeply"
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From Jim Farris
Author at DiskUs Publishing
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Leta's friendship has been a great blessing in my life.
Kathleen Culligan Techler, author at DiskUs Publishing.
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I met Leta Nolan Childers online back around 1998. E-books were just
taking off, and she was one of the pioneers. As with everything else
she did in life, Leta threw herself, body and soul, into writing and
into promoting e-books.
Leta's books were filled with romance, warmth and humor, and
characters that leaped off the pages and straight into your heart.
She was a fast writer, too...worked more quickly than almost any writer I know.
I had the privilege of working with her on several anthologies:
HOLIDAY HEARTS, HOLIDAY HEARTS 2, and CUPID'S CAPERS, and I remember
those days with great joy. Leta was the cheerleader who kept us all going.
She also did terrific cover art for my books MIRROR IMAGES and
PENUMBRA, and my short story LUCIFER'S LAST LAUGH. Her talent
extended to many areas, and she was generous with her time in all of them.
More than anything, Leta was a wonderful person and a great friend.
She will be sorely missed by all who knew her.
Elizabeth Delisi
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Leta Nolan Childers is the author who inspired me to submit to DiskUs.
I came by her books while surfing through the net and visited DiskUs for the first time.
Leta has so many fabulous books published and her talent will never be surpassed.
A true pioneer, an award winning author, and a very sweet person. She will indeed be missed.
Cia Leah
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The following is Leta's obituary written by her former editor at the Capital Journal, Dana Hess which appeared in the newspaper.
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Leta Nolan Childers
Leta Nolan Childers, 52, died at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, Minn., on Oct. 27, 2006. Visitation and a prayer service will be held at the St. John's Catholic Church, Fort Pierre, from 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 1, with a prayer service and Rosary at 5:30.Funeral services will be held at the St. John's Catholic Church at 10 a.m. Nov. 2. with Fr. Brian Christensen officiating Internment will be at the Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Blunt. A luncheon will be held at the church prior to the procession to the cemetery.
The Isburg Funeral Chapel of Pierre is in charge of arrangements.
Leta was born on Feb. 22, 1954, to Leonard and Alice Nolan of Redfield. Leta graduated from Redfield High School in 1972 and she went on to graduate in 1981 from Northern University in Aberdeen with majors in English and History and a minor in political science. After her graduation from Northern, she served a fellowship at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., in 1981 and 1982, studying political journalism. She worked briefly for the Washington Post, and the New York Times before returning to South Dakota. She was the news director at KQKD in Redfield before accepting a position at the Pierre Capital Journal where she quickly became the paper's top reporter. If there was a major story in Pierre or Fort Pierre, it appeared under Leta's byline. There's an old saying that a newspaper should comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. Leta lived up to that credo whether she was writing about the heartbreak of a child abuse trial, the malfeasance of an elected official or a waitress brought low by an AIDS rumor.
Eventually, responsibilities at home took her away from her newspaper career, but that didn't mean the end of her writing. Leta became a noted author of e-books. Her notoriety in that field led to the reporter becoming the story as she was interviewed often about the e-book phenomenon by news organizations that ranged from her local paper to the BBC of London.
She became the top selling e-author in the United States with her book "Best Laid Plans" selling more than 6,000 copies. That was an e-book record and made it the No. 1 best-seller of 1999 and 2000 for a work in electronic binding. Just as she could cover any kind of news story, her selection of book topics was eclectic, as well. Her subjects ranged from romantic comedies to a how-to primer on publishing to children's books. She's noted in the "Cambridge Guide to Children's Books in English" as one of the first authors of children's books to explore e-publishing.
In late 2004 Leta went back to work at the Capital Journal again covering crime, government and politics. Her second tenure at the paper showed that there was no rust on her reporting talents. For a time she spread out into another form of writing, composing a weekly column about life and love--often to the chagrin of her husband and son who were lovingly referred to in her columns as "Zoomer" and "the Kiddo." Leta liked the fact that readers who were accustomed to her byline on hard news stories got to see that she also had a lighter side.
Most often noted for stories about crime or politics, Leta's peers recognized her talents in other forms of writing in South Dakota Newspaper Association Better Newspapers Contest. A multiple award winner throughout her 25-year career in journalism, her triumph in 2006 was particularly gratifying as she won a first place award in the feature writing category for a story about a soldier returning home from the war in Iraq and a third place award in the best local humorous column category.
A change in ownership at the paper prompted Leta to again leave the Capital Journal, though she continued to offer stories on a free-lance basis. She turned the same entrepreneurial expertise she used on e-books to her newspaper writing career. In the summer and fall of 2006, it wasn't uncommon to find her byline on a feature story in the Capital Journal, a column in River Life and a news story in the Argus Leader.
Leta was preceded in death by her parents, Leonard and Alice Nolan, and her grandparents Daniel and Hannah Nolan and Ernest and May Belle Schurch.
Leta is survived by her husband Les Childers and their son Christopher of Fort Pierre; three stepdaughters, Shari Triebwasser and her fiance Wes Magilke of Fort Pierre, Carrie Sims of Lebanon, Mo., and Jodi Johnson of Rye, N.Y.; two sisters, Linda and George Vance of Pierre, and Laurie and Jerry Stahl of Redfield; two grandchildren, Tucker and Chestiney Triebwasser of Fort Pierre; and many aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews.
She is also survived by a lifetime of written work. Reporters are a community's first historians. Anyone who looks back at the history of Pierre and Fort Pierre during her 10 years of service at the Capital Journal will find much of the news about crime, politics and government filtered through the crisp prose and keen sense of fair play that were Leta's hallmarks.