Walter Leon West, Jr. ("Leon") was born in East Point, Georgia. His parents were Walter Leon West and Jessie Mae Moore. Leon's mother passed when he was 4.5 years old, and he was raised by his paternal grandparents, Ethel Cornelia Bell and James Williams West.
Leon entered Emory Medical School at age 16, but was drafted into World War II just two days before he turned 18.
Leon trained as a Navy Corpsman, and served on the USS Wisconsin from 1943 to 1946. He went to Iwo Jima and, on "D-Day," young Leon was given a handgun, told to hide his Medic armband (because the Japanese killed the Medics first!) and get out there to save as many marines as possible.
After the war, Leon worked for Western Electric in New York, married Dolores Knowlton in 1954, and had two children, Alison and Claudia. Dolores passed away in 1972.
Leon moved to Dunwoody, Georgia and worked for Bell South until he retired.
In 1989, Leon met Jackie Su. For Leon, it was love at first sight, and he immediately asked her to marry him. Jackie was 21 years younger and was not ready to retire. But for 17 years, Leon remained persistent. Finally, on June 28, 2006, they got married and lived in the beautiful mountains of north Georgia.
In late July 2013, Leon was diagnosed with bladder cancer; and after 2 months, he passed peacefully on the evening of September 22, 2013.
Walter Leon West, Jr. is survived by his loving wife, Jackie Su West, daughters, Alison Brewer and Claudia Nejjar, and grandchildren, Mitchell, Jake and Grace Brewer.
A Graveside Military Funeral will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, September 28, 2013 at Memorial Park Cemetery, 2030 Memorial Park Road, Gainesville, GA 30504.
Memorial Park Funeral Home, 2030 Memorial Park Road, Gainesville, GA 30504 is in charge of arrangements.
Send online condolences to www.memorialparkfuneralhomes.com.
