Dr. Leffie M Carlton III

Leffie is survived by his two daughters, Lindsay Carlton Davis (Bennett Davis, M.D.) and Stacey Carlton Espinosa (Allen Espinosa, Esq.), his brothers, C. Dennis Carlton, Leland F. Carlton and Sam S. McClure, and two grandchildren, Charles L. and Whitney M. Davis. He is preceded in death by his parents, Leffie M. Carlton Jr., M.D. and Ellen R. Carlton, and his wife of 40 years, Alice P. Carlton.

Leffie was born in Santa Fe, NM on July 1, 1946. He spent his childhood in Tampa, FL and attended Berkeley Preparatory School. Leffie was the only student in Berkeley’s school history to receive the prestigious Headmaster’s Award three times. Leffie graduated from the University of Miami School of Medicine in 1980 and completed his residency in Urologic Surgery at Tampa General Hospital. He practiced medicine for nearly thirty years and was highly regarded for his talent in surgery. In 1975, he married Alice Paleveda from Tampa. Leffie’s daughters remember his love for travel and experience, being at the ranch with his family and compassionate devotion to “his girls.”

While an extremely talented physician, Leffie had a life-long passion for aviation. He had an instrument rating and also learned aerobatics. His classic yellow Piper Cub plane, named “Annie”, and his 1947 Luscombe plane were his two favorite toys. Professional pilots touted Leffie’s superb aviation skills. On the road and throughout the streets of South Tampa, Leffie was commonly seen riding around in his 1930 Ford Model A honking the “ahooga” horn for the neighborhood children. An avid reader, Leffie was very well-rounded in a variety of topics like aviation history, WWII history and biographies of famous historical figures. Leffie also loved music and could be found in his study reading a book, watching aviation videos or performing flight simulations while 1950’s rock-n-roll tunes played. Always compassionate and kind, Leffie was a keen listener and enjoyed hearing stories about the lives of other people rather than talking about himself. But he had great stories too. Especially about his year abroad backpacking through Europe in 1967-68. Leffie had a love for animals, especially dogs. He knew the name of every dog in his neighborhood and would smile in delight whenever the dogs approached him with wagging tails. People (and dogs!) found themselves drawn to Leffie, and he will be sorely missed.

A private service for friends and family will occur to celebrate Leffie’s extraordinary life. The family would like to thank everyone for sharing their love, support and special memories of Leffie.