I’ll Miss Leoma Lovegrove

Leoma Lovegrove was a much loved artist on Matlacha, an island off the southwest coast of Florida. Her work is fun, creative, and tropical-neon bright. She died of breast cancer April 10, 2025, and the world will be a less beautiful place without her.

When Hurricane Ian hit this area September 28, 2022, a few members of Gulf Coast Writers needed to put their talents to work in the aftermath of the storm. We reasoned that victims of the storm needed to heal ,and we could help by giving them a chance to tell their stories and to share their losses with others. It was a labor of love.

We asked everyone I could find to submit their hurricane stories for the book and promised to print every submission. We got 83 stories from 79 hurricane victims… and a few heroes. When I heard Leoma’s wonderful art gallery on the island was severely damaged, I put my shyness aside and asked her to tell her story.. She immediately said yes , and we became penpals as she wrote her tale and I edited it.

I even dared to ask for a Leoma Lovegrove original to use on the cover of the book. She was on it instantly. . I love the eye-popping colors! Her artwork makes Storm Stories stand out among all the other books on Amazon.

The launch of Storm Stories – Hurricane Ian took place on the one-year anniversary of the storm. The theater at the Alliance for the Arts in Fort Myers was filled to capacity and it turned into a big media event, complete with TV coverage. Wow. Leona Lovegrove was there with more of her art work, her statement pieces, depicting the storm .