Robert "Bob" Leathers

Bob was born February 4th, 1939, on the California side of the Colorado river near Yuma, AZ to Robert F. and Georgia M. Leathers. Orphaned as a boy, he was raised by an older sister on a farm near Yuma. After spending hot summers on the farm and graduating high school, Bob decided that the only thing he wanted out of Yuma was himself and joined the Navy. There he demonstrated a real aptitude for electronics and radios. The officers noticed this, so they provided him training and Bob quickly became the go-to-guy when radios and electronic equipment misbehaved- which happened frequently at the time.

After the Navy, Bob applied this skill to industry and was involved in the earliest development of the radar Doppler scorer. In the early 1970’s he was a founder of Cartwright Electronics that specialized in non-cooperative radar-based scoring systems used by the US military for both training and weapon system development. His employees loved working for Bob and recall how they looked forward to coming to work because he would tell them new jokes every morning.

In 1996, Bob sold Cartwright Electronic to Meggitt, and it combined with other companies to form Meggitt Defense Systems, Inc (MDSI). Bob continued to serve as Chairman of the Board of MDSI for over 25 years, until his passing. He will be greatly missed by his friends and colleagues.

With wife Judy, Bob was an avid golfer and also enjoyed music, bird watching, reading, cooking for his family, and keeping up on community activities of his loved ones.

Bob was predeceased by his son John. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Judy; daughter Valerie and his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at Pacific View Memorial Park & Mortuary (Corona del Mar, CA), January 19th at 10:00AM.