James Michael Leatherwood

James Michael Leatherwood, age 74, passed away Thursday March 2nd in Riverside, CA. Jim was born December 4th, 1942 in Glendale, CA to parents Amy and Mike Leatherwood. After graduating from Cal State Northridge in 1966, he entered the Peace Corps and served for two years in Sierra Leone, West Africa. There he met the love of his life, Brenda, and they were married in 1968 in her hometown of Pembury, England. They settled in Riverside, CA where Jim became an educator with a career spanning 33 years in the Alvord School District, Riverside County Office of Education, and finally at Riverside Community College. In later years, he became well known for his woodwork, especially his hand-made wooden toys which were donated to children’s charities all over the Southern California area. Jim changed many lives for the better through his kindness, generosity, and deep desire to leave the world a better place than he found it. He will be deeply missed by his friends and especially his loving family. He is survived by his beloved wife Brenda, son Dan Leatherwood (Sharon), daughter Deborah Wertz (Bob), and his seven cherished grandchildren Annie, Aida, Andrew, Ashton, Avery, Michael, and Kelsey. He is also survived by brother, John Leatherwood and sister-in law Terri, niece Kathleen, and nephew Jeff (Sharon). Services will be held at the Grove Community Church 19900 Grove Community Drive Riverside CA (use back entrance on Barton Road) on Saturday March 11th at 5:00pm. Memories and condolences may be sent to: achesonandgraham.com/dignitymemorial. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Jim’s favorite charity, St Jude Children’s Hospital at www.stjude.org.