Laura Love Goodson Leek, 64, of McGehee, AR, passed away on February 10, 2026. She was born on September 19, 1961 to the late Larry and Betty Love.
Laura’s students at DHS were one of our most prized gifts in life. She cared for them and loved them as if they were her own children. She saw her position as a teacher as an opportunity to change a young person’s life and make them feel loved. Every student that she crossed paths with truly made every single day fulfilled.
Laura loved life and everyone in it. She cared and loved bigger than seemingly possible. And she made sure her loved ones knew it. She had so many friends in different areas of her life from church to school to the community and she considered them all as an extension of her family. Her and her closest and longest lasting friends called themselves ‘The Seagals’ and they would go on a trip every year together. Some of her happiest memories were made with them and she loved and cherished them so much. Her life was richer because they were a part of it.
Her greatest treasure in her life was her family. Her and her parents and brothers grew up as a very close family and remained so as adults. She and her brothers loved to give each other a hard time to the extent it was almost their love language. She was so proud to have them as brothers and loved them so much. Her husband was her rock in life and ‘her person’. They loved their date nights and just doing life together. Her daughters were what really made her eyes sparkle and her smile just a little bit bigger. She was so proud to be their mother and made sure everyone in her life knew it. And her daughters were just as proud of her and her strength and determination that they witnessed until her last breath. Really the only thing that would have made her life better was if there had been just a little more of it.
Laura loved and cared for so many, and as a family, we are so grateful that so many loved and cared for her. We find great comfort knowing she is with her parents and son now.
She is preceded in death by her parents; and her son, Aubrey Seth Hopson. Laura is survived by her husband, Ernest Wayne Leek; her daughters, Olivia Leek of Starkville, MS and Mary Emeline Hopson of Hot Springs, AR; and her brothers, David Goodson of Monticello, AR and Jonathan Kent Goodson, of Milan, TN.
Visitation will be held Monday, February 16, 2026, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at First Baptist Church in McGehee, Arkansas. The funeral service will be held Tuesday, February 17, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. at First Baptist Church, with burial to follow at Tillar Cemetery.
The family requests that memorials be made to the Auxiliary President of Dumas and the McGehee Gideon Camp. To donate in memory of Laura go to Gideons.org/Donate.
Arrangements made by Griffin-Culpepper Funeral Service of McGehee, AR. Online guest book may be signed at www.griffinculpepper.com
