Leon Louise Tingle was born February 4, 1919 to Chelsie T. Tingle and Margie A. (Hubbard) Tingle. She was the fifth of ten siblings. Her siblings were brother Archie J. Tingle (7-8-1911 to 7-14-1998), sister Ira Elizabeth "Jackie" Tingle Fowler (8-19-1912 to 5-23-1954), brother Woodrow W. Tingle (5-31-1914 to 5-2-1943), brother Vincent C. Tingle (b.12-13-1916), brother Arnold Ross Tingle (b.12-29-1920), brother Chelsie T."C.T." Tingle (11-17-1922 to 7-31-2009), sister Myrtle Orene Tingle Watts Mitchell (5-5-1924 to 3-17-2017), sister Mary "Minnie Ruth Tingle Rutherford (9-5-1926 to 7-9-2002)and Lloyd E. Tingle (3-1-1931 to 5-12-1977)
Leon grew up in the area around Warrior, Alabama and went to what was called Corner School. She married Searcy Preston Gardner around 1935 or 1936. They had one son Searcy Leon Gardner (b.11-30-1937 to 12-1-2005). They were divorced sometime after this. In May of 1940 she married Augustus F. "Cotton" Grable whom she had met at the auto races in Birmingham, Alabama. They travelled all over the United States during World War 2 as her Husband "Cotton" was a travelling mechanic for the U.S. Army. She spent a short time while they were stationed in California during the war working at an aircraft assembly plant. After the war they settled back in Houston, Texas after spending a few years in the Dallas area. She went to work for the Harry Martin Catering Company. Harry Martin Catering had the concessions at the Sam Houston Coliseum, Playland Park, and the Houston Zoo. Playland Park was an early Houston Amusement Park that also had a dirt racetrack. This is where here husband Cotton Grable was a flagman at the races on weekends. She spent more than twenty years working the Coliseum, Playland Park, and Zoo Concessions. This is when the Coliseum hosted such venues as the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, The Ice Capades, Ringling Brothers and Barnam Bailey Circus, as well as the Harlem Globe Trotters. Cotton and Louise took their kids Randy,and Mike to a lot of these venues while they were growing up in the late fifties and early sixties. After the death of "Cotton" in July of 1962 she spent a couple of more years in Houston before moving her kids to the Pasadena, Texas area in 1967. During this time she worked a short while at Groucho's Drive Inn, and then a short while at one of the area's better barbeque joints known as "The Wink". The last years she spent working at a local package store called the AC Cut Rate Liquor Store. After that she became the proprieter for awhile at another local spot called "The Packett Drive Inn". She retired after that and for a short while moved to Alabama to live with her sister Myrtle Watts. She moved back to the Pasadena area to be closer to her three boys and grandkids. She is survived by her sons Augustus F. "Randy" Grable Jr., Michael Wayne Grable and William Patrick Grable. She is also survived by her granddaughters Kimberly Gardner Darvell, and Jennifer Gardner Johnson both of California. Also grandsons Greg Gardner and Brian Gardner,both of California. Grand daughters Terri Lynn Grable, Ashley Grable and Tiffany Grable, all from Texas.