Final Salute

Leon B. Ufkes
May 7, 2023
Seattle , Washington – Born on the family farm in Carthage, Illinois, in 1926, Leon was the third child (first son) of Bertus and Margaret Wetterich-Ufkes. At 17, during World War II, dad joined the Navy after high school and trained as a “Fighting Seabee” navel engineer. Stationed in Guam, dad began training for the U.S. invasion of the main island of Japan, and was told that he would be in the third landing and should expect a 70% casualty rate.
Prior to that eminent invasion, we dropped the atomic bombs on Japan and the war ended. Dad always said that the American atomic bomb ended the war, and thus saved his life. Dad dedicated his career to service in the nuclear bomb production industry as a result.
Dad used the GI Bill to attend Virginia Tech and earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering. His first job, at 26, was leading a team of five in packing high explosives into atomic bombs. These explosives would be used to ignite the radioactive material to create a nuclear explosion. Dad was proud that his ideas were used to make the atomic bomb assembly process safer for his crew.
In 1954, he married our fantastic mom, Iris R. Adkins and they raised three children, Doug, Mark and Tami. In 1955, dad was invited to Hanford where he worked as a nuclear engineer, first at B Reactor and then at D, D-West, and F Reactors. Dad was given a “Q” Top Secret security government clearance in the nuclear industry during his career. He also did early work in glassificaton of nuclear waste.
Our mom died of cancer in 1972, at the age of 43. Dad married Virginia Van Liew in 1985 and during their 12-year marriage they traveled the world. Dad really enjoyed Ginny’s five kids. In 2009, Dad married Marlene Paris, and they built a life together in the Redeemer Lutheran church community in Richland. Dad so enjoyed Marlene’s family as well.
Dad loved the mountains and forests of the Northwest. We skied before we started kindergarten at Spout Springs, Oregon. We camped, hiked, canoed, rock climbed all the time. Dad led church groups to the summit of Mt. Adams on Labor Day for years. He was also Scoutmaster for several years and was proud of the three Eagle Scouts in the family.
He joined IMAC, (Inter-Mountain Alpine Club), in the Tri-Cities summited Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood, Mt. Baker, Mt. Olympus, Mt. Shasta and many more peaks across the country. Following dad’s wishes, his ashes will be scattered among the forests and mountains of the Pacific Northwest.
Dad’s Celebration-of-Life will be held on Saturday, June 3, at 11:00 am at Redeemer Lutheran church in Richland, with lunch following the service.

Published by Tri-City Herald from May 28 to May 31, 2023.