Jack Smith Leathers passed away peacefully surrounded by his family at his home in Alpharetta on September 12, 2023. Jack was born in Atlanta on October 15, 1935. He attended Morningside Elementary, Grady High School, Georgia Military Academy and Georgia Tech.
Jack was predeceased by his wife of 56 years, Eleanor Jeanette Leathers; his son, Dwight Jensen Leathers; his parents, Berta Lee Smith Leathers and Sutton Turner Leathers, Sr.; and his brother, Sutton Turner Leathers, Jr. Jack is survived by his sister, Mary Ann Leathers of FL; his three daughters, Terry LaBelle of GA, Bonnie Morton of GA (Kevin); and Jacqueline Gibson of CO (Tom); as well as his eight grandchildren, Jacob Thompson of AZ (Ashley); Robert and Morgan LaBelle of GA; Derek and Alexis Coffman of GA; TJ, Caroline and Finn Gibson of CO; and four great grandchildren, Kelton, Harlow, Berkli and Mavrik of AZ. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews.
Jack’s youth was spent in the Virginia Highland and Chastain Park areas, with many weekends & summers spent in Villa Rica riding his horse. Jack remained in the Atlanta area working with General Motors, Concrete Manufacturing Company and eventually with his own commercial mason contracting companies Hebron Construction and Jack Leathers Contractors. Jack was inspired by his grandfather, Lee Smith, who owned an Atlanta grocery store & his great grandfather, Jasper Newton Smith, who owned a brick yard and built two Atlanta hotels (“The House that Jack Built"). The Atlanta area is peppered with Jack’s meticulous brick and mason work in grocery stores, hotels, warehouses, shopping centers, schools and churches, with his last project being the original Restoration Hardware building at Perimeter Mall.
Jack was baptized at Mount Paran Church of God in 1974 where he became a light for the Lord. He spanned even more years at Roswell Church of God, where he spent time as a deacon and a Sunday School teacher. Jack was extremely dedicated to Christ and the Bible. He was a daily follower of reading the scriptures and dedicated his adult life to bringing others to Christ. After retirement, he volunteered with No Longer Bound rehabilitation center and Creative Ministries prison outreach program. Jack will be remembered for his wisdom, kindness, and dedication to both his family and his faith.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be considered in Jack's memory to Creative Ministries US, or to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation. Jack was a brave warrior in his five year battle with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Visitation will be from 12 noon - 2:00 P.M. at H.M. Patterson & Sons Arlington Chapel in Sandy Springs followed by a celebration of life at 2:00 P.M., officiated by Rev. Don Munn, with interment at Arlington Memorial Park on Saturday, September 23, 2023.
