Leighton Earl Anderson was born in Kingston, Jamaica West Indies on January 15, 1940. He was the son of Cornelius Augustus Anderson and Julia Powell.

Leighton attended the Kingston Technical High School where he nurtured his passion for engineering and applied problem solving. While in Kingston, Leighton worked at Radio Jamaica. It was during this time that he had a fateful song request come in from a set of young ladies who worked at the telephone company. One night, Leighton called the requesting ladies back, and a lady with a nice voice he didn't recognize happened to pick up. She kindly passed him onto the person he was calling, but Leighton was already hooked on the seductive voice that greeted him. This young lady was Olga Yvonne Bradshaw, and she accepted that invitation her friends cooked up to go on a date with this gentleman. After over a year of dating, Leighton told Olga they were going to get married (and proposed after the fact). On September 25, 1965, Leighton and Olga wed in Kingston, Jamaica at St. Matthews Church at a service officiated by Reverend Horace Russell. In 1967, they welcomed their first of five children, Dwayne, and their second one, Dwight, 14 months later.

In 1968, Leighton came to the US to attend school and seek a better opportunity and life for his family, which remained back in Jamaica. He continued his studies at Devry, further honing his gift for tinkering with machines. His persistence paid off as he was hired by Xerox Corporation as a service technician, where he worked for 30 years. In March 1977, Olga, Dwayne, Dwight and his mother Julia joined Leighton in Brooklyn, NY. Leighton and Olga built a foundation in East Flatbush Brooklyn, becoming part of a cherished church community at Fenimore (a.k.a Bethany) Gospel Chapel. In 2004, Leighton and Olga relocated to Edgewater, Florida, where they became loved members of the New Smyrna Bible Chapel. In 2021, Leighton and Olga relocated to Monroe, GA to live closer to their family.

Leighton's curiosity was second to none, and he was a fantastic craftsman. Whether it was building part of a house (without permits of course) or building a new computer, Leighton passed down his work ethic and embrace of exploring to his kids. Most importantly, he did so in a quintessential Jamaican way – full of love, while full of directness. His love of exploring was only second to that of his wife of six decades.

On July 23, 2025, Leighton went home to be with the Lord. Leighton is survived by his wife Olga Anderson; his two daughters (Darlene Anderson and Delia Edwards); his three sons (Dwayne Anderson, Dwight Anderson; and David Anderson); his son-in-law Eric; his two daughters-in-law (Helen and Keiha);his thirteen grandchildren (Rick, Khaleel, Savannah, Jordan, Justin, Jada, Mia, Eric Jr., Daniel, Christian, Olivia, Willow and Nailah); his nephew, Emerson Anderson; his niece, Marcia Allen; and his three grand-cats and five grand-dogs.