John Paul Leslie
Corpus Christi, TX

John Paul Leslie of Corpus Christi, Texas died quietly on August 23, 2016.

Born in Brooklyn, NY in 1935, John was 13 years old when his family moved to Corpus Christi, where he attended Driscoll Junior High and Miller High School. He graduated from the University of Texas with a BS in Electrical Engineering and married Elaine May in 1958. He then served as a U.S. Naval officer aboard USS Suribachi (AE 21) (1958-60), and USS Darby (DE 218) (1961-62) during the Cuban Missile Crisis. After leaving the Navy, he earned his MS in Engineering Management from Southern Methodist University in 1968.

John worked in Quality Control Management for Westinghouse-Baltimore, and dedicated the final thirty years of his professional career to Texas Instruments in Richardson, Texas. Under his determined guidance TI earned the coveted Baldridge Award in 1992, at which time John retired and moved to North Carolina to run his own Q&R consulting business. The move allowed him to indulge in his love of the water, and he took frequent boat trips with Elaine on his beloved little Bayliner, Blue Highways.

John loved to travel, and he shared this love with his wife of 58 years, Elaine, and his daughters Laura and Lisa. Covering most of the United States, many European countries, and every back road in the Scottish highlands and islands, he was known for his indefatigable desire to take road trip vacations every summer and was often (lovingly) accused of driving his family relentlessly. Those family vacations are the legacy he leaves behind in the hearts of those he loved.

John was preceded in death by his daughter Laura Leslie Jacob (2005), parents Viola (1990) and Arthur Leslie (1987), sister Ann Leslie Simer (1972), and nephew Pat Windle (1974). He is survived by his wife Elaine (TX), daughter Lisa and grand dog Karma (RI), son-in-law Rick Jacob (Laura) (LA), niece Katy Lewis (AZ), nephews Michael Windle (Cathie) (MO) and Andrew Simer (CA), and cousins Paul (NC), Russell (Jan) (VT), Ken (Robin) (VT), and Walter (Leslie) (MA).

His wife, daughter, and son-in-law will gather with the surviving children of his sister (Katy, Andrew, and Michael) for a private celebration of his life during a breakfast at Bob Hall Pier on Padre Island. This unites his three primary loves: his family, the sea, and a good hearty meal in the morning.

Public service and interment will be at 1 p.m. September 9, 2016 at the Coastal Bend State Veterans Cemetery in Corpus Christi, Texas. Ashes will also be scattered at sea. In lieu of flowers please direct memorial gifts in his name primarily to Save America's Treasures (https://savingplaces.org) or secondarily to the American Cancer Society (http://www.cancer.org).