Roll Call Tribute

Leonard D. Cain, Jr. 

June 24, 1925 - July 20, 2024 

Leonard D. Cain, Jr. was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, oldest of the three children of Leonard D. Cain, Sr., a postal worker, and Alma Lewis Cain, a school teacher.

He attended college at Texas A&M until he turned 18, when he joined the army. He served in Europe in the 20th Armored Division, one of the "Liberator Divisions of Dachau." Leonard was always a good-natured fellow, but he emerged from military service with a contempt for war. And he grew to hate the racism he saw in his day-to-day life. He earned two degrees from Texas Christian University and a PhD in sociology from the University of Texas. At a church Valentines Day party, he met Virginia Lou Wilder, who was working toward degrees in teaching and fine arts. They married in 1947 and, in time, had three children, Eric, Kevin and Diedre. Leonard loved his family. In 1952, they moved to California, where Leonard taught sociology at Sacramento State College for many years. During summers and sabbatical leaves, he sometimes taught at other universities around the U.S. and in Canada. A longtime elder in the Presbyterian church, he also served as an adjunct professor at the San Anselmo Theological Seminary. He was a prolific writer and produced a large and diverse body of work.

He spoke out against the war in Vietnam and in support of the rights of farm workers. He walked picket lines to protest realtors who would not sell homes to African-American buyers, and he hosted campus lectures by activists Stokely Carmichael and Eldridge Cleaver. In 1968, Leonard and a fellow professor picked up Martin Luther King at the airport and drove him to deliver a now-iconic speech on the Sacramento State athletic field. In 1969, Leonard accepted a tenured position at Portland State University, where he focused much of his work on gerontology. At PSU, he helped create and build the Urban Studies program and the Institute on Aging. In the field of sociology, Leonard was an early pioneer - perhaps the originator -- of the "Life Course" approach to the study of aging. This model looks at aging as not only a biological process, but also as intertwined with a person's whole lifetime of diverse social and cultural influences. Leonard retired in 1997.

In 2003, Virginia, his loving, supportive and cherished wife of 56 years, passed away. In 2006. Leonard married Roberta Badger, a fellow member of Portland's First Presbyterian Church. They shared much love and countless books, poems and concerts, enjoying all their years together and eventually moving to the Courtyard at Mt. Tabor Retirement Community.

Leonard Cain grew excellent tomatoes and made unbearable puns. Though he was not very adept at art or music, he and Virginia made sure their children were exposed to a lot of both. He was a daily jogger, long before the practice really caught on. He never drank alcohol and never smoked. In his later years, he liked to tell stories about his childhood adventures and his far-away travels. He often talked about what a wonderful life he had lived, with so many friends and good memories, even as he remembered less and less about them. He was in memory care when he died peacefully at age 99.

He was preceded in death by his parents, first wife Virginia, brother Ralph and sister Nelda. Leonard is survived by his wife Roberta; children Eric (Ann Williamson), Kevin (Elizabeth Alexander) and Diedre (Pedro Bastida-Gomez;); grandchildren Jarkko, Trevor, Derek, Emily and Kolya; great-grandson Kaisen; and stepdaughters Anna and Emma. A memorial service for Leonard will be held at First Presbyterian Church, 1200 SW Alder Street, Portland, 97205 on August 24th, 2024 at 2 p.m.