Brigadier General Retired John E. Leatherman, age 72, of Shepherd, Michigan and Hull, Massachusetts, died, Saturday, January 1, 2022 in Weymouth, Massachusetts. He was born January 25, 1949, in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, the son of Elizabeth “Bettie” (Kurtzman) and Cleown Alva “CA” Leatherman. He married Mary Gracik on September 24, 1977 in Saginaw, Michigan.

John graduated from Shepherd High School in Shepherd, Michigan, Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, and the United States Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. After serving in Vietnam and a few year break in service, he joined the Michigan National Guard, where he served for twenty-five years, retiring in 2005 as the Assistant Division Commander Maneuver, 38th Infantry Division, Indianapolis, Indiana. For six years he commanded Michigan’s only armor unit, the 1st battalion of the 246th armor regiment. Military honors and awards include a Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, and Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal with Silver Oak Leaf Cluster. He was also a member of the Army Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame and the Central Michigan University Reserve Officer Training Corps Hall of Fame.

Working at Dow Chemical Company in Midland, Michigan from 1969 until 2004, John earned two Journeyman Certifications, Boilermaker and Instrumentation. He retired as an Instrument Man, but continued to work as a contractor in the same capacity until 2010. He taught instrumentation at Greater Michigan Construction Academy for a few years, but left that position to embark on the highlight of his working career – babysitting his granddaughter, Katherine.

John enjoyed travel and visited all fifty states, numerous countries and several continents. His favorite travel adventure was completing America’s Great Loop, a 6,000 mile circumnavigation of the eastern United Sates by boat. He enjoyed reading and had a lifelong interest in history, especially military history.

Survived by Mary, his wife of forty-four years; son Matthew of Shepherd, Michigan, and son Benjamin and daughter-in-law Sarah of Rockland, Massachusetts; beloved granddaughter Katherine; sisters Jackie Frayre (Paul Naugle) of Midland, MI and Janice (Dan) Sagle of St. Louis, MI; many nieces and nephews and great-nieces and great-nephews. John was preceded in death by his parents and sister, Joanne Ahlers.

Memorial Services will be conducted at the Camp Grayling Officer’s Club, 311 S. Howes Lake Road, Grayling, Michigan, on Saturday, July 9, from 2 – 5 p.m. Relatives and friends are invited to attend. Interment at Arlington National Cemetery will take place at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations in John’s memory may be made to the Michigan Military Family Relief Fund, Dept. of Military and Veterans Affairs, 3423 N. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, Lansing, MI 48906 (https://www.michigan.gov/dmva/0,9665,7-402-100114-106682–,00.html), or U.S. Army Emergency Relief, 2530 Crystal Drive, Suite 13161, 13th Floor, Arlington, VA 22202 (https://www.armyemergencyrelief.org/donate/).