The Flag Lady of Clintonville dies at 87

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The woman behind a longstanding central Ohio flag business has died, her family announced on Monday.

Mary Leavitt, known in Clintonville as the Flag Lady, died at age 87, a family source told NBC4. She was preceded in death by her husband, Thomas Benson Leavitt.

“She was a woman who loved her god, her family and her country with every fiber of her being,” Leavitt’s family wrote on her business’ Facebook page. “While we mourn today, we are encouraged that her legacy will live on through the business she founded for many generations to come.”

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Her nickname mirrored the business she founded as a door-to-door saleswoman in 1977. After having a vision on her family farm, she began selling American flags from the trunk of her car during the Iranian crisis, according to the business’ website. Leavitt progressed to opening her first storefront by 1987, and in 1990 moved into The Flag Lady’s current home at 4567 N. High St.

Alongside the American flags Leavitt originally sold, her business also saw orders for flags from other nationalities in later years. With the beginning of the war between Russia and Ukraine, demand for Ukrainian flags skyrocketed in central Ohio. The Flag Lady in particular received enough orders to the point that they were producing about 30 of the nation’s flags a day.

Leavitt retired in 2017, after operating The Flag Lady storefront for around 40 years. Upon retiring, she sold the business to her daughter, Lori Leavitt Watson.

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