Stephen "Jim" James Leaton

Jim passed away on May 1, 2013, in Tulsa, OK, after a two-year battle with cancer and heart trouble. He was born in Ellsworth, KS, on May 7, 1939, to Stephen Boughton Leaton and Helen Catherine (Klaus) Leaton.

Jim was an accomplished trumpet player when younger. He played in several dance bands; the Bartlesville, OK, symphony orchestra; and the El Paso, TX, symphony orchestra.

He attended both New Mexico State University and Kansas State Teachers College in Emporia, KS.

One of his proudest achievements was being elected Governor of the Northeast Oklahoma District of the Sertoma Club for 1973-1974.

Jim enjoyed all types of music and enjoyed going to country/western music shows. He loved dancing until his health began to fail. He especially loved traveling in his motor home and seeing different parts of the country with his wife, Christine, whom he married on September 1, 2006.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Helen Catherine Bolte, of Lincoln, KS.

Jim is survived by his loving wife, Christine, of the home; four children: Jeanette Madison, of Sand Springs, OK; twin daughters, DeAnna Kahre, of Ramona, OK, and Deborah Herod, of Perry, OK; son, Stephen, of Sapulpa, OK, and his brother, George Leaton, of Salina, KS. Also left to carry on his legacy are nine grandchildren and three great grandchildren, as well as a host of other friends and loved ones.

Funeral services for Jim Leaton will be held at 1:00 PM, Monday, May 6, 2013, at Reed Culver Chapel, 117 W. Delaware St., Tahlequah, OK. Interment will follow at Hendricks Cemetery in Tahlequah, OK, with Pastor Leonard Busch officiating.

The family asks those wanting to send memorials to consider the Church of The Good Shepherd in Tulsa, OK.