William Leather

William Leather, 76 of Bethlehem Township, PA, passed away May 10th, 2026.

Born April 13th, 1950, he was the son of Herbert and Marie Leather of Fair Lawn, NJ. Graduate of Fair Lawn High School and William Paterson University.

Bill Started his career with the State of New Jersey as a Driver’s License Examiner. In 1979, after taking the NJ Civil Service State Ranger exam, he was hired as a State Park Ranger at Round Valley Recreation Area in Lebanon, NJ, where he met his wife Joyce of 43 years.

He attended the State Police Academy at Sea Girt, NJ in 1980. He then worked as a Ranger at Worthington State Forest, Spruce Run Recreation Area and Voorhees State Park. He retired from the State of NJ after 25 years of service. He was a member of the NJ State PBA local 600. He continued working at Martins Funeral Home in Clinton, NJ and Leiber Lakeside Funeral Home in Landing, NJ as an assistant to the funeral director.

Bill had a variety of interests including hiking, camping, wood working, bird watching, vegetable gardening, collecting comic books, vinyl records, discussing politics, and going to yard sales. He was an avid reader, loved Halloween, Star Trek, and old movies. He had a deep love for nature and animals. He was always interested in sitting down and having a conversation with you. He was a loving husband and father. He is survived by his wife Joyce (Baker) Leather, his daughter Amanda Marie Leather and her husband Ryan Gaughan.

A Graveside Service is scheduled for Thursday, May 14th at 12 noon at the Hecktown Hope Cemetery, 371 Nazareth Pike, Bethlehem, PA.

In lieu of flowers, charitable contributions can be made to Camp Papillon Animal Shelter, 128 Brainerd Lane, Stroudsburg, PA 18360 or Pocono Wildlife Rehabilitation & Education Center, 1161 Cherry Dr, Stroudsburg, PA 18360.