Judge Noble I. Leighton, Jr.

Judge Noble I. Leighton, Jr., son of the late Noble I. Leighton, Sr. and Francis (Parman) Leighton, was born on July 11, 1932 in Nevada, Missouri, and departed this life on February 8, 2013 in the Mercy Hospital in Springfield, Missouri, at 80 years of age.
Besides his parents, Noble was preceded in death by one sister: Charlene Osborn.
He is survived by his loving wife, Sue Leighton of their home; one son: J. Max Leighton and his wife, Jana, of Springfield, Missouri; two daughters: Cynthia Leighton of Branson, Missouri, and Susan Emmit and her husband, Scott, of Mtn. Grove, Missouri; six grandchildren: Dean Parker, Jack Guffey, Ben Leighton, Jordan Leighton, Elyse Leighton and Eli Emmit; four great-grandchildren: Aundrea, Ahsan, Lilli, and his name sake, Samuel Noble Leighton.
Noble was affectionately known as “Pobie” by his family. He was a compassionate husband and father. His children remember their dad as raising them with a “thundering, velvet, hand.”
Noble graduated with a Political Science Degree in 1954. He went on to attend Georgetown Law School in Washington, D.C. and graduated from the University of Missouri Law School in 1958.
He practiced law for decades, beginning with Bussell, Hough, & Greene Firm in Springfield, Missouri and ending his professional career as a Circuit Court Judge for Wright County. During his eight year tenure as Judge, Noble was instrumental in helping youth in Mtn. Grove and Ava, through the newly founded drug courts; an achievement dear to his heart. After his retirement, he continued to Sr. Judge, participating in the legal process he loved for fifty years.
Noble's favorite quote was, “Men must be governed by God or they will be ruled by tyrants.”
Noble was known to incorporate experiences from the law with his deep faith as he taught Sunday School for many years at the First Christian Church in Mtn. Grove, where his services are being held and where he and Sue Chasteen were married on August 22, 1954.


Funeral Service: Monday,
February 11, 2013 at 10:00 AM
in the First Christian Church, Mtn. Grove.

Visitation: No Formal

Burial: Hillcrest Cemetery

Memorial Contributions: Mercy Pallative Care c/o the funeral home.