Leann Jane Brenner

Leann Jane Brenner went home to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on January 15, 2026. Leann was born on September 7, 1935 to Ed and Clella Graber on a wheat farm near Arlington, KS. She had a sister, Belva June. A visitation will begin at 5:00 pm, on Thursday, January 22, 2026 with the rosary to be recited at 7:00 pm, at Nalley-Pickle & Welch Funeral Home Chapel. A funeral mass will take place at 2:00 pm, Friday, January 23, 2026 at St. Ann’s Catholic Church. Burial will follow at Resthaven Memorial Park.

Leann graduated from Arlington High School in 1953 with honors and went on to attend Hutchinson Junior College in Hutchinson, KS. While in high school her basketball team went undefeated for four years. While at Hutchinson Junior College she played basketball for two years. During her high school days, she was active in 4-H winning Grand Champion at the Kansas State Fair in making a suit and coordinating the accessories. During her second year at Hutchinson Junior College, she won a trip to New York City and attended the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the newly assembled United Nations Seminar. Leann not only excelled at basketball, but in academics and received a scholarship to Kansas State University. She was a member of Alpha Zeta Delta Sorority. While attending KSU she met and married Harold D. Brenner and they are proud parents of four children. She graduated from KSU in 1956 in the field of Home Economics with a secondary degree in Education.

Leann and Harold moved to the Texas Panhandle, as he started his oilfield career in 1959. They moved many times in the first few years of marriage from Kansas to Texas to Louisiana to California before landing in Midland, TX. The Brenner Family moved to New Orleans in 1972 before returning to Midland in 1977.

Leann started her teaching career in 1968. First, she went to Alpine, TX and received her elementary certification and then on to Texas Tech for certification in Special Education and Learning Disabilities. She taught in Midland Independent School District for 30 years. The last 29 years at Travis Elementary. She also taught at Edna Karr Jr. High in New Orleans, LA for 5 years with a total of 35 years of service in public education. She is a life member of the PTA and was honored as Midland Chamber of Commerce Teacher of the Month in December 1990.

Leann was active in the Midland County Republican Women, a docent at the George W. Bush Childhood Home. In June 2008 Texas Federation of Republican Women honored Leann as a tribute to women representing Midland County Republican Women. In December 2008 Leann and Harold attended George W. Bush last Christmas Party at the White House. They also attended the inauguration of George W. Bush in 2001 and 2005. They also enjoyed traveling throughout the United States and Canada. Leann’s favorite past time was playing cards with her friends and swimming with her pool peeps. Leann was preceded in death by her parents Ed and Clella Graber, her sister Belva June, her husband Harold Brenner, and her grandson Gregory Brenner.

Leann is survived by her four children David and Mary Brenner of Edmond, OK, Mike and Patsy Brenner of Lubbock, TX, Danny and Connie Brenner of Tyler, TX, and Clay and Sheryl Cox of Tuscola, TX, nine grandchildren, and 16 great grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers the family requests donations to be made to Midland College, Alpha Omega Hospice at 4620 S. Treadway Blvd. Abilene, TX 79602 or VitalCaring Home Health 749 GatewayStreet Suite E501 Abilene, TX 79602.

Arrangements are under the direction of Nalley-Pickle & Welch Funeral Home & Crematory of Midland. Online condolences may be made at www.npwelch.com.

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