Jack Leslie, the father, was born in Great Falls, Montana and joined the US Navy upon graduation from high school in 1942. He was a Naval Aviator during World War II, flying TBM Torpedo Bombers against homeland Japan in the closing months of the war. Following his military service, Jack became a "duster pilot" in the central valley of California for the next forty years. Jack and his wife Audrey had two children and four grandchildren.  Audrey passed away in 2006 and Jack in 2009. 

John, the son, was born in Sacramento, California, and graduated from the California State College, San Luis Obispo in 1967 with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering. Later that year he started flight training with the US Navy and was designated as a Naval Aviator in February 1969.  During his twenty years as a Naval Officer, John flew A-7E combat missions in Vietnam, attended the U.S. Navy Test Pilot School, and was the Commanding Officer of two Strike Fighter Squadrons flying the F/A-18 Hornet.  As a civilian, John was an Experimental Test Pilot for the Grumman/Northrop Grumman Corporations flying the F-14D, A-6E, EA-6B, and the E-2C aircraft. While employed as a Test Pilot with Grumman, John earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Dowling College in Oakdale, New York.

John and his wife Pat reside in St. Augustine, Florida.  They have two children and nine grandchildren.