Billie Leeming Obituary

Billie Joyce Barnett Leeming, a former president of the Sullivan County Humane Society, died August 13th, 20023 in Friday Harbor, WA. She was 84 years old.

Mrs. Leeming moved to Kingsport in 1978 when her husband, Frank, became publisher of the Kingsport Times-News. As president of the humane society, she worked with city and county governments to adopt a number of animal-cruelty measures. She also successfully pushed for construction of a new county animal shelter.

Mrs. Leeming was born Sept. 20, 1938, in Panola County, Miss. After college she held executive secretarial positions with firms in Memphis and Nashville, Tenn., before returning to Batesville as a manager for Warner Cable Television Company.

In 1973, she married Frank Leeming and moved Philadelphia. Five years later they moved to Kingsport and attended First Presbyterian Church. Joyce was active in the Kingsport Symphony Guild as well as the humane society.

In 1983, the Leemings purchased the Journal of the San Juan Islands in Friday Harbor, Wash. Mrs. Leeming was active in all phases of the newspaper's operation.

She became a founding member of the new San Juan Community Theater and directed some of its most successful fund-raising programs. In 1990, she was named a Citizen of the Year in San Juan County.

In 1992, the Leemings sold their company and moved to Hot Springs Village, Ark., where Joyce became an active supporter of Small Group Therapy, a non-profit organization in Hot Springs that provides training, housing and treatment for adults with mental illness. She founded Friends of Small Group Therapy, which raises thousands of dollars each year to furnish Christmas gifts for its indigent residents.

At Presbyterian Kirk in the Pines, Mrs. Leeming was elected an elder, moderated the church's Communications Committee and edited its newsletter. She later joined the staff as the church's secretary, retiring in 2017.

Survivors include her brother, Joe Thomas Barnett of Courtland, Miss.: sister-in-law, Susan Leeming Barnett, of Montgomery, Ala.; sons William C. "Dusty" Leeming of Friday Harbor, Wash.; Gregory Scott Leeming of Friday Harbor, Wash.; Frank Leeming III of Waynesville, N.C., and Lewis Carl Leeming of Haskell, Ark.; daughter, Patricia Leeming Barrett of Charlotte, N.C., and six grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Frank Leeming of Hot Springs Village, AR.

No services are planned at Mrs. Leeming's request.