In Memory - Leo Wolfe
The Arc of Life – Leo J Wolfe
by Tim Wolfe

The Long Arc of Leo’s Life can best be described by themes that were part of his life, some of which I would like to relate to you:

HIS CONNECTION TO THE LAND: Leo was born in October, 1921, the second of five children in Montevideo, MN. His parents worked on the family homestead owned by his grandfather. In 1927 Leo moved into Montevideo, but spent summers on his Uncle Ira’s farm until High School graduation. Leo planted gardens everywhere he lived. Here, at Riverview, he had a plot in a community garden. Leo arranged his plantings in a waffle pattern, which he learned while living at Zuni, which allowed him to take one bucket of water to each depression. Other gardeners in the community seemed doubtful but started copying him after his plot grew strong, healthy plants. After it was too difficult for him to keep up a garden down the road, Leo continued to grow peppers and tomatoes in flower pots on the front porch.

MASTRY: Leo did carpentry work in all of our family homes, building doors for closets and cabinets in Coulee Dam and custom-designed doors for the Santa Fe home, hand-carving beautiful and functional rifle stocks, and making picture frames for all of Mom’s paintings. His retirement allowed him hours each day to work in his newly-built woodshop, making doors, rocking horses, weaving tools, toys, jewelry and all kinds of other boxes, carvings, decoys… Oh, I know that’s not the half of it. And I know that, likely, half of you here have something Leo made for you in one of his shops: whether in Coulee Dam, Santa Fe, Durango, or here in Spokane. Leo loved wood and understood the different types of wood and their properties. He would take days’ long road trips to buy hardwoods that were difficult to purchase locally. He would choose beautiful grains and then work to bring out the best the wood had to offer. Every piece was one-of-a-kind, even when he worked from patterns. Everything Leo made was distinct from every other piece in one or more ways. Leo also demonstrated this mastery in his photography and in developing his own black and white photos; his gunsmithing work and reloading, and even in his mechanical work on his bicycles. I have never tried patching and sewing up a racing tire, but I watched Dad patiently do this many times. It was a hell of a lot of work but it saved him money!

GAINING KNOWLEDGE/LIFELONG LEARNING: Leo once wrote that he was the Valedictorian of the lower 1/3 of his high school graduating class. After high school he joined the CCC and discovered an interest in forestry. Leo understood early that he did not want to spend a lifetime working indoors. And so, he pursued a degree in forestry at University of Montana, graduating in 1950. Leo always had a stack of books to read and the titles in the books changed quickly. After retirement he read two to four books a week for decades. Leo had a thirst for knowledge that went outside of his areas of academic interest. I just recently read The Peter Principal, which is now considered a classic book on management and which Dad read when it came out around 1970. Leo subscribed to many magazines and read them, cover to cover. I recall his subscription to American Fruit Grower. I don’t recall him ever being involved in developing orchards as part of his work, but Leo did learn about the growing US vineyard business starting in the late 1960s and helped the Colville Confederated tribes establish a post peeling plant that sold vineyard posts to newly-created vineyards all over the western states. Leo was knowledgeable about and very interested in all forms of agriculture and kept up to date with the science and technology available. MILITARY SERVICE: From 1942 to 1945 Leo served during WWII in the US Army, Stationed in South Pacific, 90th Ordnance Company. He worked in the small arms repair unit. He was discharged on New Year’s Eve. Leo and his three brothers all served; his brother Bob did not return from the war. This type of service was not questioned by Leo, it was his duty.

CAREER OF SERVICE: His career life started in the summer of 1950 with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, doing timber cruising. I should mention that Dad always referred to his employer as “The Indian Service,” and I believe that was because he was dedicated to the idea of service to others. Leo treated people he worked with and worked for with respect and civility. He listened well, and tried to understand the viewpoints of others. He made a point in his career of helping others. Leo provided expertise and assistance to native peoples and tribes in the areas of land management and economic development. Late in his career he became proficient at writing environmental impact statements, a new requirement for many land-use projects. Leo also became involved in gathering historic data and physical information regarding historic water rights that were being misappropriated and affecting the sustainability of indigenous populations in the western US. It was this service to others that took him (and our growing family) to the Missouri River; Lame Deer, Chamberlain, Pierre. Zuni, NM in 1952; Dulce, NM in 1955, Coulee Dam, WA in 1962, and Santa Fe, NM in 1972. Leo retired in 1977 at age 55, with over 30 years of service for the US Government.

HORSE SENSE: Dad had been a Smoke Jumper in the summer of 1946. He once told me he didn’t like airplane flight much, especially landing. He was used to jumping out before the plane landed and didn’t seem to know what to do with himself if he was still in the plane upon landing. Dad spent one summer guiding mule teams carrying supplies in Glacier National Park. Dad’s common-sense advice was born through his experiences working on farms, and working with horses, mules, dairy cows, chickens, and turkeys. His consistent approach to working with people came out of the need to be consistent when working with animals. Dad had a financial plan throughout his life that was sensible and included saving for the future. As kids, we didn’t always have the latest toys, the newest cars, or fancy clothes. I never felt like we went without anything. We never went hungry.

WRITING: An avid letter-writer, this was Leo’s preferred way to stay in touch with far-spread family and friends. Dad wrote and edited a bicycle club newsletter for a few years, which I was overjoyed to read. His wry sense of humor was present in this and everything I recall reading from him. He co-wrote an illustrated pamphlet that came out around 1970 called “The Cowboy and Indian Backpocket Guide to Profitable Ranching,” which I used to see stocked in the area pamphlet stands around Coulee Dam. I wish I had managed to keep a few of those around. It contained tried and true ranching principles wrapped in tongue-in-cheek humor and cartoon graphics. Long after computers and word-processing machines became common in people’s homes, Dad was still using one of the last, and one of the largest, manual typewriters.

HUMOR: Dad liked to collect jokes and sometimes tell jokes, but his impromptu humor was amazing and almost always unexpected. I’ll let others talk about this if they would like. Leo enjoyed a good joke. And he was a very good sport when the joke was on him!

OK, one story I have told often but I’ll tell it once more. I was a teenager and we were living in Santa Fe. During the family dinner, Dad really didn’t like us to talk to him so he could watch the news on TV as he ate. A story was on about a prison riot in Sing Sing, NY. That got me thinking. I asked him, “Why do they name prisons with names like Sing Sing and Walla Walla?” Without a pause, he said, “Well, that’s for repeat offenders.” It remains the funniest thing I think I ever heard him say to me.

FAMILY: With three brothers and one sister, family was always all around him. Leo rounded out his own family with three daughters and two sons. Throughout his lifetime he kept in touch with his parents and siblings, some of his cousins, and his children. Dad was a proud grandfather to his two beautiful granddaughters and seven grandsons and was always interested in how they were developing and what their interests were. As great-grandchildren came into being, he was happy seeing his family grow.

FITNESS: Walking and then jogging, snowshoeing and then cross-country skiing, and hiking whenever and wherever he could. And then there was bicycling. Leo was determined to see as much of the world as he could by bicycle. By the time we lived in Santa Fe, starting in 1972, Dad was heading out more than once a week on longer and longer trips. Fifty miles was not difficult, and he had many days of 100 mile rides when he could find the time. He would invite others to go with him, but he seemed to like the solitude offered by these outings. I think it was his way of staying grounded.

ENDURANCE: I think Leo endured much, growing up during the depression and watching family farms go under. I think he endured much during his service in WWII although he did not speak of it much. I can hardly ever recall him mentioning being in pain, even though at times I know he was. And some of his greatest physical feats, like bicycling 1400 miles in 14 days to his home town in Minnesota from Santa Fe at age 63, he completed without hardly a mention of pain, stiffness, blisters, or sunburn. Leo endured much, and mostly in silence. He experienced stress over his work situation at times, especially during the years just before retirement, but it was hard to drag a complaint out of him.

SPORT: Leo loved watching all kinds of television sporting activities and was quite interested in the competitors and their own stories. He was inspired by people who put out their best effort in their chosen endeavors. Leo was also part of rifle and pistol shooting clubs, bowling leagues, and even helped coach my one and only season of little league baseball (think “Bad News Bears.”). I remember at least one summer he and my mom regularly played tennis in Coulee Dam.

INDEPENDENCE: Dad created a life where he would not have to be dependent on others and his independent spirit was with him his whole life.

DEVOTION/SPIRITUALITY: Raised Catholic, Leo always made his attendance at Sunday Service a consistent part of his routine. And he required us children to go as well, as long as we lived in the family home. His attendance was solemn and obedient. I think his routines and commitments steadied him throughout his life. Dad was forgiving and he encouraged us children to be forgiving toward and tolerant with others. He wore his rosary around his neck during the last years of his life as a constant reminder of his connection to Spirit.

There is a lot more I could talk about. We want to invite those here to talk about the Leo they knew, and how his presence fit into your own lives. Thank you all for sharing with us.