Wesley Leightner Obituary

Wesley A. Wes Leightner

Wesley "Wes" Allen Leightner, 84, passed away Wednesday, July 30, 2025, at The Meadows of Leipsic.

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

They moved to Houston, Texas, in 1945, when he was four years old, then Humboldt, Tennessee, in 1948, when he was seven years old, and then to Pandora, in 1957, when he was 16 years old.

Wes graduated from Pandora-Gilboa High School in 1959, when he was 18 years old. He then attended Wheaton College for one year, followed by three years at Santa Barbara City College, and three years at California Polytechnic College in San Luis Obispo, California, graduating in 1967 with a BS in Biology.

Over the years, he took additional classes at Stanislaw State College, University of the Pacific, University of Washington, Rutgers University, University of California at Davis, The Ohio State University, University of Findlay, and 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, California, in 1966 and 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, California, and then taught science at North Star Academy in Grass Valley, California. 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, from 1978 to 2001, when the plant closed, and then worked at 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 McDonald's in Ottawa, doing bussing, cleanup, and janitorial duties. During his early working years in Ohio, he was a member of 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 two months. They also traveled to Ukraine on an optometry mission trip and enjoyed a couple of 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 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, Georgia, Anne Kienlen of Falls Church, Virginia; and a brother, Jim (Dotty) Leightner of Pandora.

Memorial service will take place at 11 a.m. Saturday, August 2, 2025, at Chiles-Laman Funeral & Cremation Services – Bluffton. Visitation will be from 10-11 a.m. Saturday, August 2, 2025, at the funeral home.

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

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