Veda Elaine McLeod (Stewart) born February 12, 1947, in Kingston, Jamaica to Edward Stewart and Joyce Lammie. Veda “Stealie” Elaine McLeod oldest of five; Cynthia, Sylvan, Velma, Howard. Veda quickly took on the caring and supervising role of an older sister. This is where she first discovered her joy of caring for others. She attended All Saints Primary School, where she made many lifelong friends. This is where she unknowingly crossed paths with her future husband.

At the age of 16 Veda emigrated to London England (Camberwell, Brixton, Peckham, and East Dulwich), to reunite with her mother and father in September 1963. There she continued to care for her siblings by halting her education. She found work at a coat making factory. Though sustaining injuries to her fingers commuting on a double decker bus and at the sewing factory, she persevered. However, Stealie still found time to be a teenager during London’s swinging sixties! Herman’s Hermits, The Rolling Stones, and The Beatles had an extra singer at every London show. That singer was none other than Stealie Stewart in the audience or dancing at her home.

In January 1967 Veda emigrated to the United States of America, Brooklyn to be exact. She met her future husband Bruce McLeod by May of 1967. By October 1967 they were engaged! They married in June of 1969, when Bruce returned from his tour of duty in Vietnam with the US Army. Even through tight financial circumstances in England, and her early years in America. Veda continued to hold onto her dreams of being a medical professional.

After gaining her GED in 1969. She raised two children during the 1970’s in Jamaica Queens (St. Albans and Cambria Heights). By the end of the decade, she was back in school. In 1982 she earned an associate degree in Medical Laboratory Technology from NYC Technical College and started work as a Lab Technician. By 1987 Veda had earned another associate degree. This time in Nursing, from BMCC Borough of Manhattan Community College. She went on to pass the Registered Nurse Exam and began working as a RN. She continued her education by earning a Bachelor of Science, from York College in 1995.

Veda would spend the better part of a quarter century, caring for patients at Mount Sinai Hospital In NYC. Through the dark days of the AIDS crisis in New York City, Veda gained a reputation as a very caring and conscientious RN. After years of distinguished service to the public. Veda and her husband moved to East Windsor, New Jersey in 2006 and both retired in 2010. Veda enjoyed spending her retirement, traveling with her husband and grandchildren. When she wasn’t traveling, Veda’s hobbies included sewing, horticulture, vintage doll collecting, travel spoon collecting, cooking, and listening to her favorite 1950’s and 1960’s musical artists!

Veda is predeceased by her father Edward Stewart, and her brother Sylvan Stoner. She is survived by her loving husband Bruce McLeod; her son Kevin McLeod; her daughter Sonja McLeod-Jones; her mother Joyce Stoner (Lammie); her sisters Cynthia Brathwaite, and Velma Stoner; her brother Howard Stewart; her Grandchildren Brianna Spotts, Simone Jones, Shon Jones Jr, Lauriana McLeod, Kayla McLeod, and Ava McLeod; her great grandson Mason Spotts; her nieces Sharon Edwards, Sheria Stoner, and Tashiana Stoner.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, January 7, 2023, at 11:30 a.m. at A.S. Cole Son & Co., 22 North Main Street, Cranbury, NJ.

Interment will follow at Brainerd Cemetery in Cranbury.

Visitation for family and friends will be held on Friday, January 6, 2023, from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. and on Saturday, January 7, 2023, from 9:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. at the A.S. Cole Son & Co. Funeral Home.

The McLeod family requests that masks be worn by all attendees during the indoor Visitation and Funeral Services for Veda McLeod.

At the request of the McLeod family, floral arrangement may be coordinated through Marivel’s https://www.marivelsflorist.com

The McLeod family recommends that in lieu of flowers, contributions be made in Veda’s memory to:

‘Alzheimer Association’ by visiting – alz.org and to ‘Parker Life’ by visiting – https://www.parkerlife.org/about-us/donations

Friends and family may view a live stream of the service for Mrs. Vera McLeod at: https://client.tribucast.com/tcid/8596100184