Leslie Fleming

FLEMING, LESLIE RAYBURN, of Birmingham, passed away on Tuesday, July 22, 2008, at the age of 90. We will miss his patience, kindness, and wisdom. He was a good father, grandfather, and friend. Les, known as “Rayburn” as a boy, was born June 2, 1918, to Joe and Una Fleming in Elbridge, TN, where he grew up on a farm with his brother, Joseph. He received his bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Tennessee, and he later pursued graduate studies at Southern Methodist University and Vanderbilt. He was a naval officer in the Seabees during World War II, where he served in the Pacific and fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima. On December 8, 1956, Les married Bettie Parker Brown, and they moved to Birmingham, where he worked for the Rust Engineering Company until his retirement as Chief Structural Engineer in 1983. Les was a member of Canterbury United Methodist Church. He was preceded in death by his wife of 46 years, Bettie Parker Brown Fleming. He is survived by his three children and their spouses, Jim Fleming (Nancy), Kathy Hoskins (Brian), and Joe Fleming (Mary); seven grandchildren, Laura, Parker, and Will Fleming, Charles and Allen Hoskins, and Sarah and Scott Fleming; his nephew, Houston Mason; and his niece, Suzanne Glasgow. The family will receive friends on Thursday, July 24, 2008 from 10:00-11:00 AM at Currie-Jefferson Funeral Home, Highway 150, Hoover. A service will follow at 11:00 AM at the funeral home chapel. Interment will be in Jefferson Memorial Gardens, South, Dr. Ed Glasscock, officiating.