Bible And Humor Guided Rev. Leslie Whitehead
Leslie H. Whitehead ran before he could walk. He competed in track and studied medicine early in life.
He entered a spiritual mode in his mid-20s, working as a Free Methodist minister until paralyzed by polio in 1952.
Not long after, he had what his wife calls "a miraculous, spontaneous healing." He then walked even closer with the Lord, she said, founding churches, receiving an honorary doctor of divinity degree and serving as superintendent of the Pacific Northwest Free Methodist Conference.
"He said, over and over, all the choices he made to follow the Lord were the right ones," said his wife of 51 years, Esther Whitehead of Centralia. "He liked to go visit people and ask them to give their hearts to Jesus. He asked, `If you were to die tonight and go to Heaven's gate, and the Lord would say, "Why should I let you in?", you should be able to say, `Because I'm one of your own.' "
A Centralia resident since 1994, he died of cancer Wednesday (Nov. 19). He was 75.
Born and reared in Roy, Pierce County, he studied pre-medicine at Pacific Lutheran University. In 1942 he set a campus record for the 440-yard dash that stood for 23 years.
While serving in the Army in World War II he returned to the spiritual heritage of his father and grandfather, and began reading the Bible with a scholar's eye.
"He said he was going to find out for himself what the New Testament meant," said his wife. "He read it, and found it to be
true."
After World War II, he finished his bachelor of science degree at Seattle Pacific University, then enrolled at Asbury Seminary in Kentucky and became ordained in the Free Methodist ministry.
During a pastorship in Vancouver, B.C., he contracted polio and wore a body cast and leg braces. But one day as he stoked a furnace, the Lord gave him a phrase, "Loose him and let him go," according to his wife:
"He walked upstairs, took off the cast and braces, and was healed."
His later pastorships in Washington included Omak, Olympia, Burien, Yakima and Seattle. He became superintendent of the Northwest Free Methodist Conference in 1985.
When the term ended in 1991, he served one year as pastor of a tiny church in Manila.
His humor also was renowned, as was his ability to quote the Bible.
In 1994, when he moved to Centralia to be pastor at the Free Methodist Church, he helped design the Cooks Hill Community Church with characteristic propriety.
"I hope his mantle of moderation falls on me," said his wife. "Whenever I got out in left field with some idea, he'd bring me back to center."
Other survivors include his daughter, Jane Schocken of Bellevue; sons Mark Whitehead, Las Cruces, N.M.; and the Rev. Matthew Whitehead, Seattle; brothers John Whitehead, Longview; and Seth Whitehead, Yakima; and nine grandchildren.
Services are 11 a.m. tomorrow at Cooks Hill Community Church and at 7 p.m. tomorrow at First Free Methodist Church, 3200 Third Ave. W., Seattle. Remembrances may go to the Cooks Hill Church, 2400 Cooks Hill Road, Centralia, WA 98531.
Carole Beers' phone message number is 206-464-2391. Her e-mail address is: cbee-new@seatimes.com