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Dr. Kristi Lee Leatherwood of Athens, Georgia passed away early Thursday morning, April 23rd, 2020, following a brief illness. She was an Asheville native, born February 15th, 1951. Kristi graduated from Enka High, and went on to receive a B.A. from the University of North Carolina Asheville, an M.A. from the University of Florida, a Ph.D. from Ohio University, as well as a J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law. She had a long and distinguished teaching career spanning 41 years and several institutions, including Ohio University, Athens Technical College, Lanier Technical College, and UNCA. Primarily an instructor in college-level rhetoric and composition, she also taught literature and advanced composition, fiction writing, women's studies, as well as a special topics course on Vietnam and 1960s America. From 2005 to 2015 she was the lead GED instructor on the Greene County Campus of Athens Technical College. Known affectionately to her students as "Dr. L," Kristi had a passion for teaching her students to think critically, to engage with the world around them, and to honor their own experiences through the use of the written word. Her dedication to her students and to her work is evidenced by the fact that she was teaching up until a week before her death, despite the gravity of her illness.
Aside from teaching, Dr. Leatherwood also worked briefly as a law clerk for the Georgia Advocacy Office, where she used her legal research and writing skills to advocate for people living with mental illness. She also briefly served as a TANF assessor, house manager and advocate for Project Safe in Athens, Georgia. Her writings have been published in the Georgia League Report and TriQuarterly. She loved dancing, poetry, long country drives, crossword puzzles, and her beloved Blue Ridge Mountains.
She is preceded in death by her parents Ellis Leatherwood and Iris Crawford, her paternal grandparents Walter and Nettie Leatherwood, her maternal grandparents Fred and Elizabeth Williams, and her husband Richard Simpson. She is survived by her daughter Shannon Weinberg (Garrett) of Santa Cruz, CA; daughter Emily Simpson of Athens; sister Kim Leatherwood of Asheville; brother Jerry Leatherwood (Darlene) of Fairview, NC; brother Jason Leatherwood (Alan) of Roswell, GA; granddaughter Maya Weinberg, and nephew Joshua Leatherwood (Stephanie) of Mint Hill, NC. She is also survived by her partner Doug McClung of Athens, and former mother-in-law Ruth Simpson of Somerset, KY.
A memorial and celebration of life to be held in Athens, Georgia will be announced at a later date. Please contact her daughter [email protected] if you are interested in speaking, performing, or otherwise participating. Prior to her death, Kristi requested that donations be made in her honor to the Jeanette Rankin Women's Scholarship Fund.
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