Lee Leatherman

On a bright sunny day, southwest of Muskogee, Oklahoma, on May 17, 1943, a baby boy named Walter Lee Leatherman was the 5th child born to Vernon & Sarah Leatherman. Better known as Lee, he grew up & attended school at Mountain View, West Junior High & graduated from Central High School in 1961. Lee married Linda Francis Kriss on July 14th, 1962. They had 2 sons, Walter Lee & Troy Grant. Lee & Linda celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary this month. Lee became a machinist working at Acme Engineering upon graduation. He also worked in Arkansas & Tulsa. He worked as a welder for Zachary Construction building the OG&E power plant. Later he was a pipe layer for Rabon Plumbing & superintendent at Tonto Construction. Lee became a licensed minister in 1987. He went on to become an ordained minister & full-time pastor at New Faith Baptist Church in Muskogee. Lee continued his education in ministry by taking classes through the Oklahoma Baptist University given at the Muskogee Baptist Association. Lee was elected moderator for the Muskogee Baptist Association 1996-1998. Lee was also the Associate Pastor of Mountain View Baptist Church for many years until the time of his death. Lee was an active member of the community & was a proud Board Member of the Mountain View Volunteer Fire Department. He was elected to the Board on March 7, 2005 & served until his death. In 1963 he became partners with his brothers Bob & Danny to start their own racing team by each paying $25 to purchase a 1948 Ford to form Leatherman Racing. The trio of brothers decided to add up their ages & came up with the famous racing number 64. In the beginning, Lee drove the car while his brothers worked on the car. Then began some brotherly competition when Danny began driving his own race car. Lee went on to win a 50 lapper at the famous Thunderbird Speedway. At the end of the race his hands were blistered because racing gloves were not a requirement. In 1964 at Thunderbird Speedway, Lee’s driving career came to end when his 1955 Chevrolet rolled coming out of turn 1, throwing Lee from the car & rolling over him. Lee continued racing by maintaining Danny’s racecar & the family enjoyed a long successful career. In retirement, Lee imparted his wisdom & expertise to many racers who bought parts from him; including his niece, numerous nephews & close friends. Many, many racecar drivers & pit crew members spent endless hours at Uncle Lee’s shop west of town. Lee & Linda spent countless Friday & Saturday nights selling racing parts at Thunderbird & Tri-State Speedway through Mudduck Racing Products. Lee was preceded in death by his siblings James Vernon, Robert Lloyd ‘Bob’, Mary Sue Hunzeker, Helen Gomez, Linda Lott, & his two sons: Walter & Troy. Lee is survived by his wife Linda, his only living sibling Dan & wife Cheryl; brothers-in-law Terry Moore & wife Darlene, Johnny Moore & wife Janet, Jack Fairdey & wife Gwen, Ricky Kriss & wife Judy, Jim Hunzeker; along with numerous nieces & nephews. He has 3 grandchildren, Nathan, Noah & Donna Leatherman & a great grandchild on the way. He is also survived by his dachshund & faithful companion, Fred. Pallbearers are nephews: Jason, Dustin, Larry, Luke & Sylus Leatherman, Tom Howard, Matthew & Heath Weston, & David Kasnic. Honorary pallbearers are Kent Kellogg, Jerry James, Brian Nutt, Paul Steele, Jack Thornburg, Dexter Payne, Virgil Weston, Danny Bolling, Johnny & Terry Moore, Gary Dunback & Jim Hunzeker. Uncle Lee was known to be a great & Godly man, loved by many; he will be greatly missed. Lee received his reward & was greeted in heaven by his Jesus & Savior, his parents, siblings, 2 sons & several friends. Well done thy good & faithful servant. Services will be held at Mountain View Baptist Church, 6401 W. Hancock, on Friday, July 22 at 1:00 pm with interment to follow at Memorial Park Cemetery, 7600 Old Taft Rd, Muskogee.

Lee Leatherman

May 17, 1943 - July 17, 2022