Leroy was born in Wilmington, Illinois, in the heartland of
America, soon after Baha'u'llah's Message first reached the West in 1893. His
father, Charles loas, was of Lutheran background and had come from Munich to
the United States in 1880. He accepted the Faith in 1898 and served it
faithfully until his death in 1917, as a member and secretary of the House of
Spirituality in Chicago, the first Local Spiritual Assembly. To him
'Abdu'l-Baha made a remarkable promise: “… thou wilt behold thyself in a lofty station,
having all that is in earth under its shadow…" He was "that wonderful
man loas", whose seed, like Abraham's, scattered around the globe in
succeeding generations, to carry the news of the New Day.
Leroy's mother, Maria, born a German Catholic, accepted
Baha'u'llah with her husband. For her son, she was "one of the angels of
the American Baha'i community", and lived to hear of his elevation to the
rank of Hand of the Cause and to participate in the dedication of the
Mashriqu'l-Adhkar in Wilmette in 1953, to the erection of which both husband
and children had greatly contributed.
Leroy, as many have heard, was the Guardian's Hercules. His
"vigorous spirit of determination… and of noble enthusiasm," his "energy,
judgment, zeal and fidelity," his "incessant activities and
prodigious labours", his "tireless vigilance, self-sacrifice, and
devotion to the Cause in all its multiple fields of activity"- these are
the Guardian's words - were greatly prized by Shoghi Effendi as "assets for
which I am deeply and truly thankful." "I admire the spirit that
animates you [and] marvel at your stupendous efforts," he wrote to this
"dearest and most valued co-worker".
