Jeff Leggett

Willis Jefferson Leggett, called Jeff by his friends and family, was born in Zwolle to John D. Leggett and Zula Dykes Leggett on February 15, 1954. What a happy day for those who would grow to know and love him. Jeff passed away on April 29, 2017, at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans after a two-month battle to survive a severe heart attack that occurred on February 28. Jeff was the youngest of three children. He had a brother, Johnny B. Leggett, and a sister, Sherry, to help him learn important things like how to get out of the way and how to write on the walls. Jeff’s father worked as a manager for Nichols Department Stores, so Jeff had the opportunity to attend school and make friends in Natchitoches, Logansport, Winnsboro, and Zwolle. At one point, the family owned a gas station in Baton Rouge, where he attended high school. When the Leggett family moved back to Zwolle, Jeff met his future wife, Cara Parsons, at Zwolle High School. They both attended the Zwolle First United Methodist Church. It was a good place to begin a relationship that would last for 46 years. They dated for three years before they were married, and the couple celebrated their 43rd anniversary on April 6, 2017 while Jeff was in the hospital at Rapides Regional Medical Center. After high school, Jeff went to work for AT&T. He was hired as a lineman. He loved the pay and the benefit package, but wasn’t thrilled about climbing telephone poles that were sometimes old and not quite perpendicular to the ground. He applied for a cable repair position and put away his climbing spikes. Around this time, the federal government decided that AT&T was a monopoly and dismantled the finest telephone service company in the world. He had much to say about governmental interference and the flaws in our judicial system. Once the divestiture was complete, Jeff was working for South Central Bell. It was a great time in his career. He applied for an electronics technician position and traveled to many places in the U.S. to receive first hand training on new equipment as it was developed. He worked in the offices at Zwolle, Many, Florien, and Converse. He enjoyed giving personal service to the people in the Sabine Parish with the ability to fix problems without a company order being required to do what was obviously needed. When the government allowed the “Baby Bells” to merge, Jeff was then working for Bellsouth. He began troubleshooting the engineering problems that arose when new technology would not sync with old equipment. He enjoyed that as much as he did watching forensic science shows on TV. Eventually, he ended up fielding calls from all over the country, as he was one of the few employees remaining who had been thoroughly trained in all of the old systems. He helped engineers improve phone service all over the U.S. Once again, Jeff was not pleased with the judicial system that allowed AT&T to purchase back all that had been given up in the earlier divestiture. AT&T took over a Bellsouth system that had finally become very efficient after years of adjustment due to the original interference. AT&T changed routines that worked to serve customers toward routines that served shareholders. He was never happy at work again, and he retired in June of 2013 with 40 years of telecommunication service and a significant IRA to see him through his golden years. He believed that being old and broke in America was one of the worst things that could happen to him. He was happy and content with a retirement lifestyle that included a Kabota tractor and riding lawn mower, a big vegetable garden, and a fine new rigged-out black Dodge Ram 1500 Hemi truck. Jeff and Cara were blessed with a son, Wade Lee, on June 22, 1981. Wade married Candice Sepulvado, and they had a son, Tucker Wade Leggett on April 2, 2015. Jeff and Tucker loved to be together. Tucker called him Pop and Jeff called Tucker “the best thing in the world.” Many good things happened to the family over the years, and some personal tragedies also occurred. The loss of loved ones, accidents that caused injuries and difficult financial times caused the Leggett family to develop character and to draw together as a unit. By the time Jeff and Cara had spent two months in intensive care units in two cities, they felt they had earned enough character to give away character to those who didn’t have any. Through it all, belief in God, family, and country gave them a focus that allowed them to continue to count on family as the one dependable constant during everchanging circumstances. They were blessed to have extended family with the same belief system. They are conservative people who believe in God, who support individual independence from the government, and who express the right to bear arms by being gun owners. Jeff and Cara had an extraordinary life together, as 43 years with your soulmate is quite an unusual blessing in contemporary times. Cara was by his side during those precious moments when he drew his last breath. They were united as they faced his final crisis together. Additionally, a wonderful group of close, supportive friends helped them to build a lifetime of good memories full of cookouts, camping, fishing, hunting, making music, and just having fun with good-hearted people. Jeff was preceded in death by his baby daughter, Bethany Lynn Leggett; grandparents, Willis and Zella Jackson Dykes, and John W. Leggett and Jewel Gibson Leggett; father, John D. Leggett; and baby granddaughter, Gracie Leigh Leggett. He is survived by his wife, Cara Parsons Leggett of Zwolle; son, Wade Lee Leggett and wife, Candice Sepulvado Leggett, of Black Lake; grandson, Tucker Wade Leggett; mother, Zula Dykes Leggett of Zwolle; brother, Johnny B. Leggett and wife, Linda Leggett, of Chatham; sister, Sherry Hutto and husband, Rusty Hutto, of Monroe; nieces, Kody Carnell, Angela Smith, Yvonne Matherne, Bridget Harvey, and Wendy Austin; nephews, Johnny Edward Leggett, Lonnie Leggett, Keith Jackson, Charles Parsons, and Ryan Hutto; and many great nieces and nephews. If you would like to make a donation in Jeff Leggett’s memory, please send donations to the Zwolle First United Methodist Church, Zwolle, LA, 71486 or to the NRA (National Rifle Association) to support them in their fight to protect our 2nd Amendment right to bear arms.