In Memory of Leah Pearse

Leah “Lee” Pearse, age 20, born August 11, 2002 in Newburyport, MA died in an accident while on vacation in Cancun, Mexico early in the morning of January 6^th, 2023. After a great beach day, amazing dinner, and fantastic dancing, she attempted to enter her Airbnb through the third-floor balcony because the keys had been locked inside. Tragically she slipped, fell, and died instantly. She was an outstanding individual who encompassed the full range of human emotions with such a depth and compassion for others that her presence was bright and brilliant for all who knew her. So many people who have reached out to us have expressed that just a hug from Leah gave so much love and comfort.

Leah needed an outlet for her love and desire to help others, so her greatest goal in life was to become the best nurse in the world. When she turned eighteen, she began working at Mass General Hospital as a Certified Nursing Assistant, giving her patients the utmost care, love, and comfort in their greatest time of need. Alongside her career as a CNA, she was studying at Simmons College and pursuing her five-year Master’s in Nursing. She worked her heart out and was receiving straight A’s. Leah was having a phenomenal time in college, making connections with everybody she met.

If you knew Leah, you know she put everything on the table right off the bat. People felt they knew her after just the first interaction, and often they loved her immediately for the ease her presence brought to every room she entered. Her confidence, compassion, and amazing sense of humor had a magnetic effect and she tended to bring out the best in the people around her. She was bold and brave to always make her truth known and she was one of the least judgmental people that many have ever met.

She was a firecracker as a child; spunky, stubborn, and self-assured that sometimes adults didn’t even know how to handle such an intense, bold, and self-assured little person. Leah graduated from the Classical Academy at Haverhill High School in 2020 where she was involved in student council, MC-ing coffeehouses, playing on the JV Lacrosse team, and was a Co-Captain of the Girls’ swim team. For the past two years, she was the happiest we have ever seen her, living her independent college life in Boston, hanging around with her fabulous group of Simmons’ friends, and falling deeply in love with her amazing and ever-loving boyfriend Bobby (AKA Gus or Augustin).

Leah was adorable and fearless to love and express herself at all costs. She knew how to have the best, wild time and she knew how to chill out and watch reality TV. She loved being with friends, laughing, making people laugh, helping every stranger, playing with kids, lying around with our dogs Luna and Wally, and taking the best care of her cat Mo.

Leah is survived by her dad Reggie Pearse (Haverhill), her mom Amy Goldfarb (Somerville), her sister Anna Pearse (Boston), her grandmother Judy Pearse (Wicklow, Ireland), and many Aunts, Uncles, and cousins both here and in Ireland who will dearly miss her.

A funeral service will be held at the Haverhill Country Club, 58 Brickett Lane, Haverhill, MA 01830 on Friday, January 13th. The family will be receiving visitors from 12-3 PM and hold a memorial service from 3-4 PM. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the American Nurse’s Foundation to a fund set up in Leah’s name.

Support for the American Nurses Foundation funds crucial programs for nurses in the United States, including but not limited to:

• Supporting the mental health of nurses via complimentary therapy resources
• Ensuring nurses everywhere have access to the latest science-based information to protect themselves, prevent infection, and care for those in need
• Driving the national advocacy focused on nurses and patients
• Nursing Research and Education Scholarships

PLEASE NOTE - If you prefer to mail a check, make it out to 'American Nurses Foundation' and send it to the following address:

American Nurses Foundation
PO Box 504342
St. Louis, MO 63150-4342