Robert Joseph Leatherman

Robert Joseph Leatherman, 82, Nevada, Mo., passed away on Friday, Dec. 25, 2009, at his home in Nevada following an illness of a few weeks. He was born Nov. 9, 1927, in Wadsworth, Ohio, to Noah H. Leatherman and Ida Edith Buerge Leatherman. He married Esther Marie Hiebert on Oct. 16, 1949, in Hillsboro, Kan., and she survives of the home.

Robert was born in Wadsworth, and moved to Hillsboro, as a young child. He made his home in a variety of locales, but spent the last 10 years here in Vernon County. He made his living as a carpenter, but also ranched in California for a time. He was an avid woodworker. He was a member of the Living Faith Mennonite Church.

In addition to his wife Esther of the home, survivors include five children, Edith and her husband Byron Jantzen, Robert Leatherman Jr., Merced, Calif.; Lucretia Wrolstad, Schell City, Mo., Reynold Leatherman, Medford, Ore., and Melody Bold and her husband Patrick, Dehi, Calif.; 12 grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; and one sister, Ruth H. Koehn, Walker, Mo. He was preceded in death by one grandson, Christopher Bold, one sister, and one brother.

Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 31, at the Living Faith Mennonite Church with Robert Smith, Ron Koehn, and L. John Becker officiating. Interment will follow in the Living Faith Mennonite Cemetery. Friends may call now and until 8:30 a.m. Thursday at Ferry Funeral Home, 301 S. Washington, Nevada. Family visitation will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Living Faith Mennonite Church in Walker.

Memorials may be given to the Living Faith Mennonite Church in Walker. View obituary and send condolences online at www.ferryfuneralhome.com.