John Alan Leffler

John Alan Leffler left this world on April 20, 2024 in the same way he did most things-quietly, unassumingly, humbly, and without much of a fuss. He was 80 years old, and he was loved every single day of those years: first, by his parents Clifford and Alice; then by his sisters Jane and Sandy; and later by his beautiful bride, Linda, who he met at a church bowling event and was married to for 57 years. His best friend and college roommate Keith married Linda's sister JoEllen, and they all remained lifelong friends as well as family. Shortly after they married, Linda and John moved from Ohio to Michigan, where he worked for and retired from General Motors as they raised three children who have also been loved every single day of their lives. There are many different ways to show love, and one of the ways John showed his was by showing up. He showed up as a deacon in his church, where he sat in the back so he could take attendance. He showed up on Tuesdays to serve at the Metro Church of Christ food bank. He showed up to support his kids and grandkids in all kinds of activities and in all kinds of weather, from basketball, football, baseball, and wrestling to volleyball, cheer, and dance. In fact, he showed up so much that he couldn't keep up with his own teams. He recorded every Tiger and Red Wing game on TV but didn't have time to watch them. He was often 20 or more games behind and didn't want to hear the outcome, so nobody was allowed to talk about current sports while he was around. He showed up for family vacations, from packing nine people in a van for three days to drive from Michigan to Arizona, to camping trips in the pop-up camper, to donning a Mr. Potato Head costume at Disney just to make his family happy. From Punta Cana to Grand Haven, he was always up to do anything for the people he loved. And that translated to the everyday stuff of life as well. Whether dog sitting, fixing stuff, or attempting to grill (which he was horrible at), John was happiest when making other people happy. He loved bowling and golf, photography and reading. He wore silly turkey hats at Thanksgiving. He refused to take pills and still ground them up and put them in pudding. He wore parkas and sat in tents at the grandkids' games. He was a proud University of Cincinnati Bearcat. He loved euchre, Rummikub, Bingo, Spoons, and Solitaire. He loved God, and he loved his family-and he made them all proud. His was a life filled with simple things-but they were and are the most important things, and his legacy lives on through the people he loved and the lives he shaped through his quiet, constant example. John is survived by his children, Steven (Jennifer) Leffler, Julie (Jerry) Parks, and Lori (Ryan) Leszczynski; grandkids, Justin, Brett, Logan, Alex, Jake, Carson, Natalie, Abbey, Brady, and Camden; his sister, Sandy; sister-in-law Jo Ellen (Keith) Cramer; brother-in-law Ben (Lidia) Goodman; and 11 nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by wife, Linda, his parents, Alice and Clifford, his sister, Jane Winters, and brothers-in-law Gene Winters and Marv McFann. John's family will receive friends for visitation on Friday, April 26, 2024 from 3:00 p.m. until 9:00 a.m. at the Wm. Sullivan & Son Funeral Home, 8459 Hall Road (3 blocks East of Van Dyke), Utica. A funeral service will continue on Saturday, April 27, visitation from 10:30 a.m. until the time of his service at 11:00 a.m. at Metro Church of Christ, 40100 Dodge Park Rd, Sterling Heights. The service is being shared and can be viewed by logging on to FB Metro Church of Christ Facebook page at 11:00. Entombment at Christian Memorial Cemetery, Rochester Hills.

John Alan Leffler

January 29, 1944 - April 20, 2024