Clintonville retail fixture The Flag Lady dies at 87

Mary Leavitt, a fixture of Clintonville retail for decades, has died at age 87.

To most, though, Leavitt was known by a different name: The Flag Lady.

Leavitt, who died Monday, parlayed deep patriotism and a flair for sewing into one of the largest flag retailers in the country.

"She had just an incredible zest for life," said Dakota Merz, who has worked at The Flag Lady store for six years. "Everything she did was 110%, with the most passion you’ve ever seen out of anyone. She had a smile that would light up a room."

A Columbus native and graduate of Columbus City Schools' North High, Leavitt started her business by selling flags out of the trunk of her car in Libertyville, Illinois, during the Iranian hostage crisis, while one of her sons, Andy, was on a U.S. Navy ship stationed off Iran's coast.

“My journey began almost 38 years ago, hand-sewing and repairing flags in our basement,” Watson told The Dispatch in 2021, when she sold the business to her daughter, Lori Leavitt Watson.

After her husband, Thomas, was transferred back to Columbus, Mary Leavitt opened her first Flag Lady store in 1982 on Indianola Avenue. Five years later, she moved the store to 4567 N. High St., where, thousands of flags later, it continues to sell flags of all sorts, including custom-made flags.

The store grew into one of the nation's largest flag retailers, selling 36,497 U.S. flags in 2021, along with about 5,000 Ohio State University flags and 2,500 custom flags, Watson told The Dispatch two years ago.

A member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Leavitt wore her patriotism for all to see. Literally.

"I saw her nearly every day for six years," Merz said. "I never saw her wear anything but red, white and blue. She loved her country. She was the picture-perfect patriot."

Leavitt's patriotism even extended to the store's phone number: 614-263-1776.

"I was raised in a family steeped in patriotism," Leavitt told The Dispatch in 2010.

Leavitt's patriotism also led her to become involved in politics, including an unsuccessful run for Columbus City Council. In 2008, she endorsed presidential candidate Sen. John McCain at a fundraiser at the store, and hosted Samuel "Joe the Plumber" Wurzelbacher, the Toledo-area man who raised concerns about federal tax policies to then-presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama.

Leavitt twice led the pledge of allegiance for presidential candidates at their nominating conventions, according to her obituary.

In 2015, the store made headlines with its decision to stop selling Confederate flags following the shooting deaths of nine black church members in South Carolina.

Leavitt was a founding member of the National Independent Flag Dealers Association (NIFDA), a longtime member of the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) and a member of Grace Polaris church in Westerville.

The Flag Lady store will be closed Thursday and Friday in her honor.

"We're going to continue her legacy as best we can, and try to live every day like Mary," said Merz.

Leavitt is survived by her three children, Andy and Charlie Leavitt, and Lori Leavitt Watson; seven grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.

Visitation will take place Thursday afternoon and evening at the Rutherford Corbin Funeral Home, 515 High St., Worthington. A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at the funeral home.

jweiker@dispatch.com

@JimWeiker

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Mary Leavitt, The Flag Lady, dies at age 87