Leighton Clyde Wilson

Leighton Clyde Wilson age 96 of Birmingham passed away January 10, 2024. He was a member of The Cathedral Church Of The Advent in Birmingham. He was born in Darling, Mississippi where he spent his childhood before moving to Alabama. He enjoyed reading, solving trigonometry and calculus problems, gardening, woodworking, home remodeling, being outdoors, hiking, and travel. His gardens were plentiful and provided his family with many wonderful fresh meals up until two years ago. He had a strong innate curiosity about the world around him and was a lifelong learner. He joined the U.S. Navy at the end of World War II. Following his naval service, he completed pre-engineering studies at Howard College then worked as a draftsman at Chicago Bridge & Iron where he met his future wife, Sula. In 1954 Leighton completed his civil engineering degree, and he and Sula both graduated from the University of Alabama. They were married soon after her graduation and celebrated 69 years of marriage last year. He returned to Chicago Bridge for a long civil engineering career. His engineering career included multiple challenging, complex, and rewarding projects, highlighted by design work on the torus confinement vessel of an experimental nuclear fusion reactor at Princeton University. He was a devoted husband and father who enjoyed family, friends, his church life at the Advent, and the non-materialistic intellectually stimulating pleasure of his hobbies. After retirement he volunteered with Habitat For Humanity and the Firehouse Shelter soup kitchen. He enjoyed traveling in both the US and Europe as a way to see and learn about new things. He was friendly and engaging with everyone he met. He was preceded in death by his parents, Lula Clyde and Preston, his brothers James and Jack, and an infant son, Preston Wyatt. He is survived by his wife of 69 years, Sula, daughter Beth, son Walter (Ann-Katrin), grandchildren Marie Wilson and Leighton Wilson (Shilpa). The service will be held at the Cathedral Church of The Advent, Birmingham, Tuesday January 23 with visitation starting at 1 PM and the funeral service at 2 PM.