Father LeRoux, 82, masterful preacher

Pulpits and podiums terrified the Rev. William F. LeRoux, S.J. At just under 5 feet tall, he could barely see over them.

But Father LeRoux felt that he was born to preach, so he learned to step to the front of the stage and speak without notes.

"He spoke so powerfully — and always from memory," said the Rev. Stephen Sundborg, president of Seattle University, where Father LeRoux taught and worked from 1958 to 2003. In 1978, he was named dean of the college of arts and sciences. He also preached for more than 20 years at the St. Stephen the Martyr parish in Renton.

Father LeRoux died in his sleep Friday at the Oregon Province Jesuit Infirmary at Gonzaga University in Spokane.

In his last major speech, at Seattle University's commencement ceremony in June, Father LeRoux had given another fearless performance.

At 82 and suffering from a heart condition, he spoke from a wheelchair. But his deep, gravelly voice carried strong and confident over the crowd.

And when he was done, "the sun hit one face — Father LeRoux's," said Leo Hindery Jr., a Seattle University graduate and 30-year friend of the priest. "It was remarkable. And that was the first time that some of us thought that he might be leaving this world soon."

Great men are not often described as "impish." But for Father LeRoux, the word seemed to fit: In addition to being a masterful preacher, he had a quick tongue, and he liked to match wits with prank-playing students.

"He was the unfiltered man," Sundborg said. "Whatever he thought, he said. He had that character of being lovable but raspy and always sure of himself."

Students used to write "LeRoux for Pope," along the top of the chalkboard — too high for him to erase it.

But Father LeRoux would come right back. "He would always have a wisecrack," said Pat Fahey, who took his theology course 44 years ago.

Father LeRoux was born in Pasco in 1921, the son of a railroad worker. He graduated from Pasco High School in 1939, entered the Jesuit order in 1940, earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Gonzaga University, and received a doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in 1959.

He was a lifelong Roosevelt Democrat and kept a portrait of President Kennedy in his office. Being a Democrat was "part of his identity," Sundborg said.

He also had been a Boston Red Sox fan since boyhood. "I think it was this underdog thing," Hindery said.

When the Red Sox came to play the Mariners, friends would make sure that he had a box seat for the game.

And like millions around the country, Father LeRoux thought that the Red Sox's victory in this fall's World Series might portend a Democratic win in the presidential election.

"He had been really, really hoping that the Democrats would win," Sundborg said.

Father LeRoux's unique combination of force and charm made him a perfect fund-raiser for SU after he stepped down as dean of arts and sciences in 1982.

On fund-raising calls, his voice, it seems, was irresistible.

"Father LeRoux here," Fahey growled, doing his best impression of his old friend. When Fahey heard that greeting on the phone at the appointed time each year, he knew it was time to give.

A service will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, at St. James Cathedral in Seattle. A reception will follow.

Memorials may be sent to: The Jesuit Senior Fund, P.O. Box 86010, Portland, OR 97286.

Jim Downing: 206-515-5627 or jdowning@seattletimes.com