DALLAS – Seated in his favorite recliner, Leo Lee raises his right hand and makes a three finger salute.
“On my honor, I will do my best; To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law,” he began, reciting the Scout Promise by memory. “To help other people at all times; To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.”
Once finished, he smiles wide.
Leo first put on a Boy Scouts uniform in the fourth grade. The 86-year-old was hooked on scouting even back then, and he stayed hooked for three decades.
He says the Boy Scout promise is a creed he lives by. A creed he wanted to share with his children.
“Those things help develop a man into a good citizen,” he said.
The father of four and grandfather of seven is tickled scouting is a family tradition.
“Wife served as a Den Mother, our sons were cubs, the daughters were girl scouts, then my sons became eagles, and their sons became eagles,” he said. “Makes a grandfather very proud.”
Now retired, Leo lives at Presbyterian Village North senior living facility near Lake Highlands with his wife of 62 years, Jerry.
Leo was in high school when he achieved the rank of eagle scout. A goal every scout hopes to reach, yet many miss.
And before turning scouting into a 33-year career, Leo was drafted into the army in 1953 where he was a guided missile mechanic in El Paso.
For Leo, scouting is a way of life. But it’s not all business, he said.
“You’ll have fun in Boy Scouts,” he said. “You’ll learn teamwork, you’ll learn how to cooperate with other people and you’ll use those same skills as an adult.”
When Leo isn’t on the putting green, he volunteers for the boy scouts inspecting campsites.
“Camp appraisal is plenty of activity for me,” he said, and laughed.
And whatever comes his way, just like the Scouts motto, he’s prepared.
