Noel Leathers Passes Away

Noel Leathers passed away on January 28th, 2013.  Excerpts from his Obituary:

He was born in Columbus, Ohio on January 14, 1924 to Ernest and Della Leathers. He attended the Ohio State University from 1941-1942. He served on Active duty as a Japanese Interpreter with the 4th U.S. Marine Division from 1942 to 1946. In 1946, he served in the Joint Intelligence Center under Admiral Nimitz in the Pacific. He was active in the campaigns on Saipan, Tinian, Guam, Palau and Iwo Jima. He was on special assignment from 1946-1947 as a Second Lt. for the Marine Corps. He was proficient in Japanese, French and German and had intermediate proficiency in Farsi, Korean and Italian. He published a number of books, the most recent on January 31, 2012, Reflections on the Pacific War: A Marine Interpreter Remembers.

He graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1949 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in History and German. He earned his Master of Arts Degree in European History at Oklahoma State in 1950 and his PhD Degree in European History from the University of Oklahoma in 1963.

After the war he served as a special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and received two commendations from J. Edgar Hoover. He was assigned to the FBI bureaus in Los Angeles, California and Washington, D.C. on special assignments.

He taught at the University of Toledo and served as Head of the History Department and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

In 1972, Dr. Leathers came to the University of Akron as Professor of History and Vice President for Academic Affairs until 1988 and taught European and Japanese History until his retirement in 1995. In June, 1997 he was reappointed Senior Vice President and Provost and he subsequently retired in July of 2000.

He traveled over a good part of this earth, as a consultant on Academic programs and as a retired professor, enjoying many cultures and interesting sites in this world.