J.C. Leslie

J.C. Leslie, 84, of Independence, MO, a former paint company executive, passed away Tuesday, May 3, 2005. Services will be 10 am Friday, May 6th at Speaks Suburban Chapel, 18020 E. 39th Street, Independence; with interment in Mt. Olivet Cemetery. Visitation will be 5 to 8 pm Thursday at the Chapel. J.C. was born May 13, 1920 at home near the former K.C. Blues ball park and was an original member of its Knothole Gang. He attended Northeast High School and the University of Missouri at Rolla in 1940 with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering. J.C. was employed by Consumers Cooperative Association, now Farmland Industries, as manager of their Paint Division from 1940 to 1952; assistant plant manager for Cook Paint & Varnish Co. from 1952 to 1957; and Vice President of Tnemec Co. Inc., a paint and coatings company from 1957 until his retirement in 1979. He was an Honorary Kentucky Colonel and a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. J.C. was a past president and fifty year member of the Kansas City Paint & Coatings Association; a past president and fifty year member of the Kansas City Society for Coatings Technology; a member of the Federation of Societies for Coatings Technology, a technical organization of over seven thousand chemical and production personnel in the U.S., Canada, England, and Mexico. He was a former international president of the federation. J.C. is survived by his wife, Rose Marie Russo Leslie; daughter, Denise Hartke and husband Paul; son, Robert Leslie and wife Pam all of Gladstone, MO; stepdaughter, Edith Jungck and companion Rick Roark of Independence, MO; grandchildren, Marty, Craig, and Brad Howard.