The Pasadena Police Department (207 North Garfield) and its outdoor entry hall became a little more welcoming as Tuesday, Nov. 10 with the dedication of a brand new place to sit, rest and reflect. At that moment, the Pasadena Police Foundation honored the memory of one of its founders, Bill Leishman, with the unveiling of “Bill’s Bench.” Bill spent much of the last 25 years of his life as a volunteer for the Youth Accountability Board (YAB), one of the Police Foundation’s youth programs that works with troubled teens. Through the YAB, young people who have problems with the law are able to avoid having anything appear on their record as long as they work with the board as their mentors to do better in school and have no further arrests. If they need special services (mental health, medical attention, tutoring, etc), the program helps provide them so that they graduated to become productive members of the Pasadena community.
In attendance at the dedication of Bill’s Bench was Pasadena Police Chief Phillip Sanchez accompanied by members of the Pasadena Police Foundation. Also present was Bill Leishman’s daughter, Kimberely who will receive a bouquet of tulips, Bill’s favorite flower for which he was well-known in the Altadena community for his spring blooms.
Bill Leishman was raised in San Marino. He served his country during the war where while in Europe he acquired a love of skiing. But fly fishing was his real love, and every year he never missed his annual trip to the mountain streams. His family originally operated one of the earliest lumber mills in Pasadena and eventually went into property management. His grandfather is credited with leading the effort to build the Rose Bowl while his father was a well recognized civic leader and former president of the Tournament of Roses. For many in the Pasadena community, the name Leishman is synonymous with “The Pasadena Way,” which is etched in stone in front of the police department and refers to how locals try to treat one another with dignity and respect no matter how deep their differences. Bill epitomized “The Pasadena Way.”
