The Shinnston News & Harrison County Journal has named Leslie Queen Pruitt
as July’s Citizen of the Month, a program sponsored by Dorsey Funeral Home
in Shinnston – locally owned & operated.
By TRINA RUNNER
News & Journal Staff Writer
To be sure, Leslie Queen Pruitt has had her share of challenges. As she faces each one, however, those who love her see another layer of grace with which she handles them. Still considered a “newlywed” to husband Dixon Pruitt, whom she married in 2013, Pruitt is starting another chapter of her life that includes gratitude, travel and as many four-legged friends as she can round up.
“I am a true blue animal lover,” says Pruitt, who is known to do a lot of rescue work with dogs. She not only owns two dogs, but she finds homes for any that she sees along the road. “I have been known to have three or four strays at my house at one time, trying to find them a home. My pets have become one of my favorite pastimes. One of my mottos has always been . .”Love me . . . Love my dogs!”
She doesn’t just stick to lapdogs either. “I had two Rottweilers and then, after they passed, got two English Mastiffs, one of which weighed 230 pounds,” she said. Now, she and her husband have one Mastiff and one Shih Tzu, who rules the roost although he only weighs 17 pounds.
Pruitt has been a Court Reporter for the Supreme Court of Appeals since 1985, starting in her current position straight out of high school. After 31 years, she still loves the job and the people she works with and never gets tired of the stories that go with the job.
“I have heard so many stories, some funny, some sad, some interesting and some downright confusing,” she said. “My favorites are the adoption hearings!
She hopes to retire from the position someday and have even more time to devote to her family and animals.
Pruitt and her husband both own Harley Davidsons and love to go for bike rides. She also loves to hunt and is one of the few women who takes off the week of Thanksgiving to hunt instead of hitting up Black Friday sales.
Raised by Harrison County legend Rosalyn Queen Alonso, Pruitt also has a love for cooking. She had the honor of holding the title of “People’s Choice” at the WV Italian Heritage Festival Pasta Cook-off for her award winning Pasta Fagiole in white sauce. The traditional Italian dishes, along with regional favorites, are a joy to prepare for her family, most of whom live locally. She also adds that there are several sets of twins in her family … she has a twin sister; her bothers are twins; her niece and nephew are twins; and her husband has a twin sister.
She and her husband recently bought a 1961 Shasta Reissue camper and have been taking it camping every chance they get. “I really love being able to combine traveling with the outdoors and share it all with my husband.”
Pruitt has been a member of the Clarksburg League of Service for over 20 years and helps with all their fundraisers and events; and she is a member of the Immaculate Conception Church. Leslie served as Queen Regina Maria VI for the WV Italian Heritage Festival and promotes the festival and all its activities.
Not your typical “collector”, she has a collection of over 75 clocks in her house. Both quirky and unconventional, Leslie Queen Pruitt is the perfect snapshot of confidence, humor and humility as she serves the people she loves and the citizens of Harrison County.
