Deacon Bob Leathers

I’m an only child and was born and raised in Miami, Florida.  My first parish in Miami was SS. Peter & Paul!  I attended the University of Miami and hold a BBA with a major in Accounting.  Professionally, I’m an actively licensed Florida CPA.  After graduating from college, I began working for what is now Ernst & Young, then as a Controller for a large not-for-profit hospital, and later for Knight Ridder, a large newspaper publishing company that owned the San Jose Mercury News.  In 1999, Knight Ridder moved its corporate offices from Miami to San Jose, California, and I moved to the Bay Area for what I thought would be a three-year job assignment.  Instead, I met my wife, Cindy, who lived in San Mateo.  We were married in 2006 and decided to make California our permanent home.  Just after we returned from our honeymoon, we found out that Knight Ridder was sold.  I found a new home at Stanford University, where I worked until 2020.  I retired as an Associate Controller for Stanford in January, 2020.  Cindy retired in June 2020 from UCSF and we relocated to Roseville in August 2020.

In high school in Miami, I met a deacon who influenced me a great deal and taught me about the Mass.  My pastor was also a compelling influence.  Later, after college, I attended a “Cursillo” weekend which was a profound experience in Christ.  In 1987, I was accepted into the permanent deacon program for the Archdiocese of Miami.  Because my parents’ health was failing, I decided not to be ordained a deacon, but to care for them.  In January 2010, with Cindy’s blessing, I decided to continue my diaconate formation, and was accepted into the program for the Archdiocese of San Francisco.  I was ordained on June 24, 2012 and assigned to St. Gregory Parish in San Mateo.  From the time I started formation in Miami until I was ordained in San Francisco was 26 years, which may be something of a record!

My favorite part of being a deacon is that being of service brings me great joy.  I’ve had the most “fun” doing baptisms because you can never tell what the babies will do during baptism!  My favorite saint is St. Joseph.  It’s my confirmation name and St. Joseph’s Feast Day is March 19^th, close to my birthday. 

My present hobbies are reading and traveling, and most recently, wine tasting, all of which I hope to have more time to do now that I am retired.

I was honored to be assigned to SS. Peter & Paul Parish in August 2021.  My wife, Cindy, and I look forward to engaging fully in the parish community.