by Pat McCaughan
The Rev. Canon Gary William “Bill” Leeson, widely known for pioneering pastoral work and advocacy with AIDS patients and the Los Angeles LGBTQ+ community in the 1980s, died Friday, Oct. 9 at his Eagle Rock home. He was 81.
He had worked tirelessly among L.A.’s underserved communities, helping to establish one of the city’s first regular Spanish-language masses, and was among the first rectors to openly welcome the gay community. As rector of All Saints Church in Highland Park, he was also recognized for revitalizing ministry among the church’s youth, many of whom received educational scholarships from the church.
The Rev. Nancy Frausto, Director of Latinx Studies at the University of the South, was one of those students. “I will never forget how Father Bill welcomed my family into the Church, opening not just its doors but his heart. He helped shape who I am today, and it is because of him that I am an Episcopal priest.
“For so many of us who grew up at All Saints Highland Park, Fr. Bill made the Church a vibrant sign of God’s kingdom, opening doors and creating opportunities we never imagined possible. I will always remember his ripped jeans, T-shirts, unapologetic spirit, and that unmistakable Boricua accent, even though he was from the Midwest.”
Ordained a priest in 1969, he had served congregations in Wisconsin and Los Angeles and as a deputy to the 1977 General Convention, the first year that women were allowed to be ordained as priests. He retired in 2007, the same year then Bishop J. Jon Bruno named him an honorary canon of the diocese.
He was born December 14, 1944, in Laurium, an historic village located on the northwestern tip of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula where his father Ralph was stationed with the U.S. Coast Guard. He graduated magna cum laude in 1966 with a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and literature from Drury University in Springfield, Missouri. He earned a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Nashotah House, in Nashotah, Wisconsin, in 1969. He moved to California in 1981. He was also active in the Cursillo Movement.
“What we have tried to do during the time that I have been rector of All Saints Parish is to follow our mission statement—to tell the stories of Jesus—to our community through evangelism, outreach, empowerment, worship and education,” Leeson said at his retirement.
“I hope this is a legacy that will endure as we all have sought to live out the Eucharist in the world, and by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, create a community that is Christ-centered and inclusive—one that cuts across lines of language, culture, affectational-orientation educational and socioeconomic status,” he said. “This diverse and joyful family of Christians is what I value most as the fruit of 18 years of ministry.”
From 1981 to 2001, he taught in the L.A.’s Unified School District, first as a 5th– and 6th grade teacher, then as a bilingual resource teacher specializing in transitional reading between English and Spanish. During this time, he worked as a non-stipendiary priest at Trinity, Los Angeles. He had also served as priest-in-charge at the Church of the Epiphany, Lincoln Heights, known as a gathering place for the United Farm Workers Movement.
He continued to serve the diocese in various capacities after retirement, as a consultant for congregational development, according to Canon Dan Valdez, who had attended All Saints and had known Leeson for more than 35 years. Leeson “was the reason I became an Episcopalian,” Valdez said.
In more recent years, Leeson attended St. Mark’s Church in Glendale, where he also served as an assisting priest.
In addition to his father Ralph, he was predeceased by his mother, Margolene, and a brother, Stephen. He is survived by nieces Jill and Melanie, and nephews, Aaron and Seth.
A cause of death had not been determined at News’ press time.
Arrangements are pending, but a memorial service is expected to be held at St. Mark’s, Glendale.