"So many good times with my dear friend and ?cousin in law?. Learned so much from you over the years. My heart has another big giant hole. Say hello to my Gregory & all the other loved ones who have left us."
In loving memory of
Veronique Liane Leininger-Halpern
March 22, 1955 - July 20, 2021
Veronique Liane Leininger-Halpern passed away at home on July 20, 2021 after a lengthy illness and a tremendous fighting spirit to the end. The term "joie de vivre" perfectly describes how she lived her life. No one loved fun, family and friends as much as our Veronique.
Veronique was born on March 22, 1955 in Paris, France. She immigrated to the U.S. in 1959 with her parents, Maurice and Liane, whereupon they settled in Phoenix, AZ. One of Veronique's favorite memories was walking off the airplane at four years old and seeing the faces of her cousins Domino and Greg pressed up against the fence, anxious to meet their Parisian cousin. Being smart as a whip, Veronique took to English quickly and was soon speaking fluently, often interpreting for her family.
Veronique attended Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, class of 1973, and was a member of the National Honor Society. She then attended the University of Arizona and graduated with a degree in French, with minors in Spanish and International Business. She studied at the Sorbonne in Paris during her junior year, and not long after graduation she moved to France full-time for the majority of her 20s working for the French equivalent of Kelly Services. She often reflected on her travels during that time, from the streets of Paris, to the Alps of Talloires, to one of her favorite locations, Greece, telling endless stories of her adventures. She moved back to Arizona in 1985 to assist her father in his company, Vineyards of France, and for a time ran a division importing beers. Additionally, she earned her real estate license and assisted with her brother's Judo Dojo. Soon after she met her husband Bill, and in 1994 they had their one and only daughter, Victoria. Veronique and Victoria were mother and daughter traveling buddies, each other's best audiences, connected at the hip, and at the end of the day, very best friends. She never turned down an adventure with Victoria, even when that meant zip lining, parasailing, star gazing, night snorkeling with manta rays in Hawaii, and even getting matching tattoos. She loved the water and was most at home on the beach anywhere, anytime. She and Bill were also best friends. Whether they were traveling to Santa Monica, California as they did often, or just sitting down and watching movies at home, they never ran out of things to talk about and could always make each other laugh, a true cornerstone of their nearly 35-year relationship.
Her love of learning, travel, culture, and the French language stayed with her throughout her life, eventually leading to a wildly successful, colorful career as a French teacher at Pinnacle High School for the last 21 years. A running theme throughout her work experiences was an incredible work ethic, and an endlessly positive, welcoming attitude. It seems as though no matter what work she was doing, she loved it and she was happy, and she gained so much from imparting the wonders of France onto her students and inspiring them to also live life to their fullest and take a chance to see the world, just as she had done.
Veronique was preceded in death by her father, Maurice, and is survived by her mother, Liane, husband, Bill, daughter, Victoria, and her younger brothers, Christophe and Bryan. She has numerous family members both here and in France with whom she maintained a very close relationship and loved very much. She loved animals and dogs, and fell in a special love with Corgis, one of whom, Spanky, misses her and loves her very much.
Due to the rise in Covid infections, there will be a private family service. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Hospice of the Valley or the Arizona Humane Society.
She is our angel and nothing will ever separate us. Au revoir et bonne nuit, ma chérie. À bientôt, je t'aime.
Tributes
"Madame was just simply the best. Having her as a French teacher was the best part of high school, and I don?t say that lightly. My friends and I sat with her at lunch every day, sharing stories and laughter. I remember being so excited to tell Madame everything about my high school trip to Paris? my friends and I took a photo in front of the Eiffel Tower, to frame for Madame and surprise her with it. We were always thinking about her. Her French students always will ??"
"I had Veronique or just Madame as my whole class called her as a teacher for 3 out of the four years I was at Pinnacle high. Coming to her class was always a joy. I never thought I would take more than the two required years or French, but she made coming to her class everyday something to look forward to. She genuinely cared for all of her students and only wished the best for them. By my senior year, we had a very small class of about 10 students and by then she felt more like a friend than a teacher. I remember when she taught us all the words to Champs-Élysées and my class would want to sing it non stop. My first visit to Paris I heard a man playing it on the accordion and was instantly brought back to that class. I am now a senior in college and in less than a month I am going to Paris to study abroad and I don?t think I would have pursued it if it were not for her. I know there will be many more things I see and hear that will remind me of the time I had her as a teacher. She had a positive impact on so many and I am lucky to be one of those people. I will miss her dearly. "
"Dear Veronique, my best friend and blood sister. I love you!"
"I had Veronique as a French teacher at Pinnacle High School. She taught me for 3 years from 2011 to 2014, taking me from the beginning levels of French to the AP French exam when I was a senior. I loved French before I met her, but she helped cultivate my love of all things French for those several years. Even after graduating high school, I was able to come back to my old French classroom and talk with her and her students at the time about how I had used French in my life since graduation. I learned so much from her as a student and still remember many moments in her classroom. I remember talking to her about how I would practice French on my own by describing to myself what I was doing in French, and she was so excited about it that she would share it with other students, which only encouraged me to continue to learn and grow in the language. I knew that she cared about me as a student of the language, and there was almost nothing that made me happier than being able to come back after graduating to share with her what I had been able to do because of what she taught me. French has played a huge role in my life since high school. The language took me to Washington DC and France on multiple occasions while I was an undergraduate, and the experiences I had in those places have made me who I am today and have helped me find my life passions. I owe much of my foundation in French, and consequently, the person I am today, to her. I am so grateful for her example, care, and encouragement while I was her student. I will miss her dearly and will always remember her as one of my most influential mentors and friends. "