Leslie Denise Land

Leslie Denise (Dyche) Land, 43, of Burns, Wyo., and formerly of La Grande, died Jan. 3 at Davis Hospice Center in Cheyenne, Wyo., after a fight with breast cancer. At her request, a memorial service will be held this spring at the family home near Burns.

Leslie was born March 8, 1967, in La Grande.

She was a member of the First Baptist Church in Cheyenne and employed by the Laramie County treasurers office. Leslie served as the Blue Mountain Rodeo Queen in 1984-85. A 1985 graduate of La Grande High School, she had recently returned to school to pursue a nursing degree at Laramie County Community College.

Through her battles with breast cancer, she was an advocate of the American Cancer Society and recently served as co-chair for the inaugural STRIDES Walk in Cheyenne. She had been honored by the American Cancer Society as a Hero of Hope in 2010.

Leslie loved the outdoors, the mountains and her animals. She enjoyed helping others and spending time with family and friends. Those who knew her say her greatest gift was her smile.

Survivors include her loving husband, Michael; their son, Jared; her mother, Lynne and her husband, Larry Dixon, of La Grande; sisters, Cheri Tannlund of Pipestone, Minn., and Diana Tannlund of Winnemucca, Nev.; and brothers, Scott and his wife, Debbie Dyche, of Oak Harbor, Wash., and Ernest Pemberton of Union.

Additional survivors include her first husband, Wes Jones of Wallowa; and his children, Trent, Trevor and Travis; sister-in-law, Pamela and her husband, Greg Metzler, of Powder Springs, Ga.; stepsister, Gwen Holloway of Cheyenne; step-brother, Galen and his wife, Carrie King, of Cheyenne; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.

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