The
INSIDE Letters
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 2 Contributed photo/ Chase Schober
Sheriff’s Log
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 3
Fire safety
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 4
www.islandsweekly.com 360-376-4500
Islands’ eekly W
VOLUME 38, NUMBER 27 • JULY 7, 2015
A priest with the spirit to explore and serve By Anna V. Smith Journal reporter
The Rev. Edward Douglas Leche III has always had a roaming spirit. It’s what led him to explore the Seattle neighborhoods of his boyhood, what enticed him to sign up for World War II aboard the U.S.S. Saratoga at age 17, and ultimately what led him around the state of Washington to eight different parishes before fulfilling a mission to the San Juan Islands, where he finally settled to stay. June 29 marked Leche’s 60th anniversary of his ordination as an Episcopal priest, originally ordained June 29, 1955. Family members, churchgoers, amateur radio operators and friends gathered Sunday, June 28, to reminisce with Leche, now 89. Father Ted, as most know him, came to the San Juan Islands in 1967 by mission to the three Episcopal churches on San Juan, Orcas and Lopez Islands. The church issued him a
boat named the Archangel so that he could minister to the islands without ferry service or established churches: Stuart, Waldron and Shaw. “I liked anything that didn’t tie me down,” Father Ted said about his mission service in the San Juans. “Parish work never appealed to me; you got set down in one place and you didn’t get to go anywhere.” The people on the islands also appealed to him; there seemed to be someone from every walk of life here. “He really did minister to a wide range of people,” said his son, Edward Leche IV. “Industrialists, producers, environmentalists, the wealthy and those who were searching for themselves — such an eclectic web of people all here for different reasons.” He was paid in chicken eggs in Darrington, held communion on a lake in a boat at Camp Huston and mediated local spats around the islands.
His family often accompanied him on the Archangel. Edward and daughter Mary DeLong remember going with him to services, taking friends with them and meeting all of the intriguing characters that he met through his ministry. His wife, Mary Jane Leche, was a fixture in the community as well and helped him throughout the years. “Mom never did know who was coming home for dinner,” she said. Father Ted has also seen the changes in the San Juan Islands over time. One by one the churches dropped off his mission as their populations increased, and they became self-supporting churches with their own pastors. Orcas was the first location to become their own parish, then Lopez, then he focused on St. David’s until retiring in 1988. “The goal of a mission is for it to become self-sufficient and to become an independent congregation,” said the Rev. Doug Simonsen, Rector at St. David’s. “He succeeded in that, so the need of a San Juan Island
Contributed photo
The Rev. Edward Leche III, shown above as a young man and to the right, is celebrating his 60th anniversary as an ordained priest. mission evaporated. That’s his legacy here.” Another change to the islands came by way of fishing. As the means of the business changed, there were fewer fishermen in the harbor. As visitors grew, there were more yachts and pleasure boats.
Lopez Artist Guild Art Show Featuring:
Colin Goode, Lane Langford, Christa Malay & Sylvia Chesley Smith July 10 - August 7, 2015
Lopez Center for Community & the Arts Opening Reception Friday July 10, 5-7 pm
2015 FAIR GUIDE
Providing a full schedule of fair activities and events plus, informative feature stories
Publishes August 12
Copy & Sales Deadline: Wed, July 29, 2015
To advertise call Cali Bagby 376-4500
Garden Beautification & New Entrance Curtain Dress up • Live music Fashion Show • Yard Games Adult $50 • Youth $20 • Purchase your tickets today! LCCA, PSR, Lopez Bookshop & lopezcenter.org
“The islands developed, and it was a big change when it became a tourist attraction,” Father Ted said. “It was a lot more fun when it was the other way.” Radio was a prevalent influence in Father Ted’s life, reaching back as far as his Navy days in 1944, when he was sent to the University of Colorado to study radio communication, and then to be a radio operator on the Saratoga. He was a part of REACT - Radio Emergency Associated Communication Teams – when living and working in the San Juan Islands. “There was this man, Fred Lions, who would sit by the radio all day long and broadcast around the island whenever somebody needed help,” Edward said.
Whenever he was out on the water in the Archangel, Father Ted would tune in and help out distressed vessels in need. Father Ted returned to radio in his retirement as a ham radio operator here in the San Juans. He also spent time painting and sculpting. He lived with his wife Mary Jane in a log cabin they built until she passed away in 2010. He moved to Poulsbo for a short time to be closer to his son and his family, before returning to live in the Village at the Harbour in Friday Harbor. “Since coming back, his spirit has come home,” said Edward to the gathering on Sunday. “I’m so thankful for you all who encourage his love and spirit.”