James Reynolds Leverett Jr.

James Reynolds Leverett Jr. James Reynolds Leverett Jr., 90, passed away Jan. 19, 2018 in Las Cruces. James was born April 30, 1927 in Council Bluffs, Iowa. His parents were James R. Leverett Sr. and Verna Mauer Leverett. He had one sister, Carol, now deceased. James graduated from Iowa State in 1949 and was married June 10, 1950 to Margret (Marnie) Wallace, now deceased. The couple moved to St. Louis, Mo., and then to Cleveland, OH, Toledo, OH, Pittsburgh PA, Buffalo, NY, and finally Las Cruces. James loved the outdoors and was a keen hiker and scuba diver. He was also a ham radio operator and prolific photographer. He climbed all 46 peaks of the Adirondack Mountains, and hiked 1600 miles of the Appalachian Trail. James was a chemical engineer, and worked for Mallinckrodt Chemical, Brush Beryllium, Dravo, and Hooker Chemical. He designed the furnace in which the heat shields for the early Mercury space capsules were forged; and was a pioneer in computer control of industrial processes. Later, he helped create and was the second executive director of Tifft Farm, a nature reserve in the middle of Buffalo's industrial district. When the two Leveretts retired, they traveled extensively throughout the country in a motor home for three years before settling in Las Cruces in 1992. The couple did trail work on public lands with the New Mexico Volunteers for the Outdoors. James supported Marnie's work with the League of Women Voters, and they were jointly honored for twenty years of service in 2012. He served on the Las Cruces Capital Improvement Advisory Committee. James used his ham radio skills to provide communications services to the Mesilla Valley Search and Rescue, the Office of Emergency Management, as well as the annual Bataan Memorial Death March. He designed early websites for White Sands National Monument and the League of Women Voters and facilitated a computer users group in Good Samaritan. James is survived by his daughter Margot Leverett of Las Cruces, sons Thomas Leverett of Cloudcroft NM, Bruce Leverett of Pittsburgh PA, and William Leverett of Chesterfield England; grandchildren Alison, Ryan, Josephine, Justin, Noah, Elias, Corey, Sierra, Ava and Lydia Bea; great-grandchildren Layla and Landon; and dear friend Judy Waite. A memorial service will be held at the Arts and Recreation Room at Good Samaritan, Terrace Drive, at 2 p.m., Sunday the 28th of January 2018.