Donald "Don" Aubrey Leak

Donald A. Leak, 89, of Camano Island, WA, passed away peacefully on July 21, 2025. Born in Hendricks County, Indiana, Don was the first-born child of Aubrey and Mary Esther Servies Leak. Don grew up on a farm where he helped milk the cows, raise the chickens and pigs, and used the tractor to tend the crops. Water was pumped by hand until electricity came to the farm in the early 1950s. 

A 1953 graduate of Brownsburg High School, Don earned his B.S. in Social Work from Indiana University in Bloomington in 1957. It was at IU, during his freshman year, that he met the love of his life, Joyce Weigel. They married in 1957 and celebrated 67 years together. At IU, Don was president of the Student YMCA, a member of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, and Youth Director for the Central YMCA of Indianapolis.

While attending the Chicago Theological Seminary, where he received his Bachelor of Divinity in 1961, Don served as Assistant Director of Camp Duncan in Illinois and Associate Program Secretary of the University of Illinois YMCA. He was ordained by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) but considered his ministry to be through his work as a YMCA director.

Don’s YMCA career took him across the country, beginning as Director and Religious Coordinator at the University of Kentucky in 1961, where he organized service projects in Peru and Colombia and led integrated student groups to the United Nations and Martin Luther King Jr.’s church in Atlanta. In 1966, he joined the Southern Area Council of the YMCA in Atlanta, working with over 50 campuses in the Southeast and engaging in civil rights and urban action initiatives in 10 states.

In 1970, Don became Executive Director of the YMCA of Peoria, Illinois, later serving on the National Board of YMCAs and local human services task forces. In 1978, he moved to Spokane, WA, as Executive Director of the YMCA of the Inland Empire. In 1981, his leadership continued in the Seattle Archdiocese, where he managed the St. Thomas Center and oversaw the construction of a new church for St. John Vianney Parish. While living in Bothell, Don held leadership roles in the Seattle University Christian Church.

After retiring, Don moved to Camano Island in 1998 where he remained deeply involved in community service. He served as president of the Beach Watchers environmental program that became Sound Water Stewards, co-president of the Allen-Stone Chapter of YMCA retirees, president of the First Christian Church in Mount Vernon, and president of the Camano Lutheran Church Council. He was also on the organizing committee of the Stanwood-Camano YMCA, serving on its board until June 2025.

Don and Joyce shared a love of travel, visiting Canada, Mexico, and all 50 U.S. states as well as destinations around the globe — from the Holy Land, China, and Russia to New Zealand, Australia, Africa, Europe, Egypt, Croatia, and the Caribbean — often joined by family and friends.

Don is survived by his beloved wife Joyce; sons David (Martha) and Bruce (Sandra); and grandson Max. He was preceded in death by his parents, sister, brother, and their spouses.

PLEASE CLICK ON THE MEMENTOS TAB ABOVE THE INTRO VIDEO FOR PHOTOS AND STORIES FROM DON’S LIFE!