Louis Levy Leatherman Jr. M.D., 84, of Bertram, Texas passed peacefully on January 11th, 2022.

Dr. Leatherman was a well-respected cardiologist who devoted his professional career to helping others. His desire to become a physician and treat those suffering from heart disease was motivated by the premature death of his own father due to heart disease when Dr. Leatherman was 16 years old.

Born April 17th, 1937 in Alexandria, Louisiana, Dr. Leatherman was the eldest son of Gertrude Leatherman and Louis Levy Leatherman Sr. of Pineville, Louisiana.

Dr. Leatherman was raised in Pineville, Louisiana. and attended Louisiana College in Pineville, Louisiana. After completing three years of undergraduate study, he married Charlotte Wheeler, from Alexandria, Louisiana and moved to New Orleans, Louisiana to attend Louisiana State University Medical School from which he earned his Doctor of Medicine degree on June 8, 1962. He completed his internship at Martin Army Hospital, Fort Benning, Georgia (July 1962 - July 1963) and his residency training in Internal Medicine at Confederate Memorial Medical Center in Shreveport, Louisiana (July 1965 - July 1967).

Dr. Leatherman moved his family to Houston, Texas in 1968, began and completed his fellowship in cardiology, studying under world renowned physicians at the Texas Heart Institute and Baylor College of Medicine. He entered into private practice as an early member of the Medical Clinic of Houston, faculty member of the Baylor College of Medicine, and practicing physician at St. Luke's Hospital in Houston.

Dr. Leatherman's career spanned 30 years and he was on the cutting edge of many innovations and medical technology breakthroughs that are commonplace today such as the pacemaker, bypass surgery, cardiac catheterizations, and coronary angioplasty. Dr. Leatherman was attending staff at St. Luke's Hospital and The Texas Heart Institute, Consulting Staff at Texas Children's Hospital, Teaching Staff at Ben Taub and Jefferson Davis County Hospitals as well as a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Tx.

Dr. Leatherman purchased a ranch near Bertram, Texas in 1972 where he and his family enjoyed being together away from the mental and physical rigors of his medical practice in Houston. Dr. Leatherman loved nature and wildlife and devoted his considerable energy and intelligence to constantly improving the productivity of the land he purchased. He married Mary Gail Swift in 1994 and in 1995 they retired and moved to his ranch permanently. From that point on, Dr. Leatherman and Mary Gail traveled monthly to Ruston, Louisiana where they ran a corporate wellness clinic for their good friend James Davison. As a team, Dr. and Mrs. Leatherman kept hundreds of Mr. Davison's employees healthy and helped coach them through many difficult medical situations. They ran this wellness clinic as long as Dr. Leatherman was able to make the 8-hour trip each month.

Dr. Leatherman was preceded in death by his parents Louis Levy Leatherman Sr., and Gertrude Flossie Leatherman of Pineville, Louisiana. He is survived by his brothers: Dr. Edward H. Leatherman of Shreveport, Louisiana, and Malcolm L. Leatherman of Pineville, Louisiana; wife, Mary Gail Leatherman; daughter, Dr. Martha Leatherman of Helotes, Texas and her husband Dr. James Moore; son, Mark Leatherman of Nacogdoches, Texas and his wife Peggy Leatherman; the mother of his children, Charlotte Wheeler Leatherman; grandchildren: Jameson Moore, Jonathon Moore, Rachel Moore, Ashley Leatherman, and Hunter Leatherman; stepchildren: Kirk Swift, and Shelly Swift Roeder; and step­ grandchildren: Jackson Swift, Mia Swift, Levon Roeder, and Iva Mae Roeder.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making memorial donations in Doc's name to Louisiana Christian University or to Casa Aleluya at https://www.casaaleluya.org/donate/

A Memorial Service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 29th, 2022 at the Bertram First Baptist Church, in Bertram, Texas. Following the service, Doc will be laid to rest at the South Gabriel Cemetery in Bertram. Dr. Gordon Bergstrom and Dr. John Duncan will be officiating the services.