Wesley Leightner

PANDORA -- Wesley "Wes" Allen Leightner, 84, passed away July 30, 2025 at the Meadows of Leipsic.

Wes was born March 3, 1941 in Fort Wayne, IN, to Clinton Edward Leightner, from Pandora, OH and Genevieve Marie Dilgart Leightner from Clyde, OH.

They moved to Houston, TX in 1945, when he was 4 years old, then Humboldt, TN in 1948, when he was 7 years old, and then to Pandora, OH in 1957, when he was 16 years old.

Wes graduated from Pandora-Gilboa High School in 1959, when he was 18 years old. Then he attended Wheaton College for 1 year, Santa Barbara City College for 3 years, and then California Polytechnic College in San Luis Obispo, CA, for 3 years, graduating in 1967 with a B.S. in Biology.

Over the years, he took additional classes at Stanislaw State College, the University of the Pacific, the University of Washington, Rutgers University, the University of California at Davis, The Ohio State University, the University of Findlay, and the University of California at Berkeley. Many, if not all of the classes, were related to his passion for geology, and were often on-site at various digs out west.

He married Jan Collins in Santa Barbara, CA in 1966 and was later divorced in 1972. In 1972, he spent a year touring much of Africa with his cousin Patrick Kelly and his wife, Valerie Kelly, from July 1972 to July 1973. On the way home from Africa, he spent several days in each of the following cities: Athens, Rome, Zurich, Paris, London, and New York City.

On March 8, 1974, he asked Jesus Christ to come into his life in Manteca, CA, and then taught science at North Star Academy in Grass Valley, CA. He came back to Ohio in 1976, taught science at Lima Central Catholic High School in 1977, met Barbara Elizabeth Probst in 1977, and married her June 19, 1978. He worked at Phillips in Ottawa, OH from 1978 to 2001, when the plant closed, and then worked at the McComb cookie factory for one year. He enjoyed going to auctions and flea markets, collecting and reselling unique, old items. In more recent years, he worked at McDonalds in Ottawa, OH doing bussing, cleanup, janitorial duties. During his early working years in Ohio, he was a member of the Full Gospel Businessmen's Fellowship.

For a number of years, he enjoyed traveling with guests in a restored school bus named Barnabas. In 2006, Wes and Liz, toured Mexico in an RV for 2 months. Wes and Liz also traveled to Ukraine on an optometry mission trip and enjoyed a couple Caribbean cruises, as well as train trips to New York City and Chicago, and road trips to Mt. Rushmore and Yellowstone National Park.

Wes and Liz lived for a number of years in Liz's family home in Pandora, before moving to a downtown Pandora loft apartment, which they lost to a fire on May 7, 2005, along with many prized possessions. In their later years, they enjoyed living out at Spring Lake.

He was preceded in death by both parents and his wife, Elizabeth, who passed away in August, 2021.

He is survived by two sisters, Linda (Ron) Yabroudy of Atlanta, GA, Anne Kienlen of Falls Church, VA, and a brother, Jim (Dotty) Leightner of Pandora, OH.

A memorial service will take place on Saturday, August 2, 2025, at 11:00 am, at Chiles-Laman Funeral & Cremation Services – Bluffton. Visitation will take place from 10:00 am to 11:00 am on Saturday, August 2, 2025, at the funeral home.

Memorial Contributions may be made to Shalom Ministries of Harrod, Ohio or to the Pandora-Gilboa Lifewise Academy.

Condolences may be expressed to the family at www.chiles-lamanfh.com.