J. W. Leathers

Mr. J. W. Leathers, age 92 of Toone, Tennessee, passed from this life Thursday afternoon, August 11, 2016 at Pine Meadows Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Bolivar, Tennessee.

A native of Mercer, he was born September 11, 1923 to the late George and Nannie Bell Essary Leathers and lived a majority of his life in the Toone area. He worked as an auto mechanic for 50+ years, having worked for Sears from 1971-1989 at which point he semi-retired, but continued to do odd jobs even into his 90's. He worked for various companies prior to working for Sears, including Ford Motor Company and the Tannery. He was a 1943 graduate of Bolivar Central High School, where he met and was sweethearts with his future bride, Clara King. They married on May 5, 1946 in a fire station in Corinth, Mississippi. Mr. Leathers served in the US Army from 1944-46 as a mechanic during World War II, and received the Purple Heart for wounds received of enemy action on September 18, 1944 in the vicinity of Metz, France. He and his wife lived in Sitka for a while after they married when he worked at the arsenal, moving back to this area in 1950. Mr. Leathers loved to fish and hunt and garden, growing lots of tomatoes, and especially enjoyed going to gospel singings with his wife and sitting in his front porch swing. He was saved at the tender age of 10 years old at an old-fashioned tent revival at Beech Grove Baptist Church. His family states that he lived his life in such a way that people would know he loved the Lord.

Survivors include his wife of 70 years, Clara King Leathers of Toone; a son and his wife, Larry Joe Leathers (Bonnie) of Toone; two brothers, Leo Leathers (Joann) of Huntingdon and Kenneth Leathers (Dorothy) of Jackson; a granddaughter and her husband, Katy & Randy Mynatt of Bolivar; and a great grandson, Hunter Mynatt. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a brother, Theo Leathers and a sister, Theda Dix. The family requests memorial donations in Mr. Leathers' name be made to the National Alzheimer's Association (www.alz.org/donate).