ROCKLAND — John Andrew Leiter left us all behind in the early morning hours of July 25, 2017, at his home with his parents, where he lost his struggle with drug addiction.

John was the dearly beloved son born to Bruce and Meredith Carpenter Leiter, on May 10, 1990 in Rockport. He grew up in his home in Rockland with his two older sisters, Sarah and Melissa. He attended Rockland District High School, Pace University in New York City, and the University of Southern Maine.

John loved being with people and was always polite and friendly to everyone, brightening their day with his engaging smile and kind words.

While growing up, John loved being with his family; he especially loved the many family vacations to Disney World, the warm weather beaches in the south, the Caribbean, and Mexico. When he was younger he loved going “uptah” camp in Brownville Junction with his family and friends in the winter for snowmobiling. As a child he enjoyed many trips, riding between his dad’s legs, and more recently enjoyed snowmobiling with his friends. John touched so very many lives; he loved being with his many friends and he loved children, karaoke, pool, snowboarding, skiing, trivia, movies, and golf.

He loved to have fun, listening to music and dancing with his sisters and his mother.

John inherited his father’s passion for the ocean. He loved being out there, whether fishing offshore in the winter or up in the bay in the summer. He was an excellent fisherman who was extremely proud of his ability to work incredibly hard. He particularly delighted in “cruising the bay” with his dad, family, and friends on the ‘Man ‘O War’.

John’s greatest strength was the love he had for his family, he would always make everyone laugh. His greatest gift to all who knew him was his smile. His love and his smile are eternal, and for that, he will always be with us, and we forever with him.

John was predeceased by his grandparents, Donald and Margaret Carpenter and Laban and Iva Leiter. John is survived by his father, Bruce Edmund and his mother Meredith Ann; his sisters, Sarah Margaret Leiter and Melissa Fearon Leiter; his canine soulmate Tug; his uncles, Karl Leiter and wife Marion, John Leither, Donald Carpenter and his wife Brenda; his aunts Lisa Wisler and her husband Dale, Janet Leiter, Susan Leiter and her partner Tim Nason; his cousin Carrie Carpenter and Ken Landrum and their daughter Taylor Landrum; and by so many other people whose lives he touched.

Since our beloved John lost his life to the life threatening illness of drug addiction, and since the well-established foundation Make-A-Wish deals with life threatening illness in children, his family requests that memorial donations in memory of John go to Make-A-Wish Maine, 477 Congress Street, Suite M1, Portland, Maine 04101.

Family and friends are invited to visit from 5 to 7 p.m., Tuesday, August 1, 2017 at Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock Street, Rockland, where a celebration of his life will be held at 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, August 2, 2017. The Reverend Wayne Sawyer will officiate.

To share a memory or condolence with John’s family, please visit their Book of Memories at www.bchfh.com.