JOHN MARVIN LeCATO, SR.

JOHN MARVIN LeCATO, SR.

Here is a collection of newspaper items covering the history of a Rehoboth Beach

resident who needs to be remembered and respected as a “Great One' on the “Old Timers”

pages of Rehoboth's history.

First we review his August 7, 1969 obituary which appeared in the Wilmington

Morning News.

Dewey Beach:

Former Delaware State Representative, John Marvin LeCato, age 78, died of a heart attack,

August 6, 1969 at his farm home at the edge of Rehoboth Bay. Services will be private and

await the arrival of his son Stewart who is in Denmark.

LeCato , a biologist, a plant pathologist and advocate of water and sewage control

in Sussex county.

At age 27 he joined the faculty of the University of Delaware, that was in 1918. as associate professor of pathology. In addition he was chosen to be the college track team

coach.

He was the democract representitive from Dewey and was a Rehoboth Councilman in the mid 1960's. As a member of the board of the Mental Health Department of Delaware and

had a keen interest in the Stockley home for the retarded.

In his younger years he traveled for the Firestone Rubber Company throughout West

Africa and East Indies and was charged with the transport of thousands of rubber tree

saplings from Dutch East Indies to Liberia, considered a remarkable feat.

He was born 26 November 1890 in Western Elenthera, Bahamas, to Dr. John Thomas LeCato, 1863 – 1895, a native of Accomack county, Virginia and Nora Isabel Shipley, 1866 - 1893, native of Anne Arundel county Maryland. His father died of Yellow Fever.

John M. LeCato was educated in the schools of rural Maryland, graduated Baltimore

City College 1910, then the University of Michigan in 1913. He received a masters degree

in biology in 1914 from University of Illionis and did graduate studies at Johns Hopkins

University in the 1920's. 1914 to 1817 he was at Marshall University, Huntington, West

Virginia and spent a year with the U. S. Department of Agriculture as a plant pathologist.

While at the University of Delaware he worked in southern Delaware with sweet potatoes

and cantaloupes to improve the quality. Later in Delaware he was the biologist at the CCC

Camp at Lewes and helped start the mosquito control programs 1933 to 1938. He was

also a sanitary engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers and Public Health Services.

Next he took a position as the principal of Rehoboth Schools, taught chemistry, and became president of Rehoboth Kiwanis.

Survivors are his widow, Esther Virginia Tubbs who he married the 3d January 1914,

two sons, Capt. John M. LeCato, Jr., U.S. Merchant Marines of Charleston, South Carolina,

and Stewart , Linthicum Heights, Maryland and his granddaughter, Crista Skudlark of Milton,

Delaware, owner of “Backyard Jam & Jellies.”

John Marvin LeCato is buried in All Saints Cemetery, Angola, Indian River Hundred,

Sussex County, Delaware.

Professor John Marvin LaCato

In charge of Delaware College Track Team

Friday, January 24, 1919, Wilmington Morning News

Newark, Delaware, January 23, 1919:

At a student meeting at Delaware College, Coach Shipley, announced the Professor

John M. LeCato of the extension service at the college will take charge of the track team

this year. LeCato is a track man and called for track candidates to meet with him this

evening in the gymnasium. Spex Craig will be team captain and Earle Ewing is to be

the team manager.

Saturday, May 28, 1921, Wilmington Evening News Journal

Newark, May 24:

The track season was to end next Saturday with a meet with Muhlenburg but the meet was

canceled . Especially regretted by the track team is the fact that this was the last season

for coach John M. LeCato who has coached the team the past three years and developed

some great athletes. He is seen as a 'wizard' at getting performance out of his team

members along with his teaching bacteriology in the university.

Lecato goes to Johns Hopkins University this September to join the faculty and to

assist in coaching the track team. Several of the track men LeCato has developed are the

freshman Betzmer who holds the Delaware javelin record. Among other records he also

holds the record at Swarthmore with a heave of 176 feet, 8 and a half inches. Betzmer

also holds the shot put record at Delaware and is a discus thrower of note. Booth, a long

distance runner who under coach LeCato has records in the mile and two mile runs . Then

there is Pittman, a sprinter, best Delaware has ever had, never been defeated. Fred Harmer,

under LeCato, a low hurdler, is always a winner.

John LeCato

Monday, February 28. 1966 Wilmington Morning News, Les Hendrix, Sussex

Bureau writes Rehoboth Beach:

John LeCato in his own words was on the worst coal burning, bucket of rust, cargo ship,

with millioms of lice aboard, was about to be arrested or knocking a spanard over board

for damaging secveral rubber tree pants. A $5 dollar American gold piece sealed his release.

LeCato was employed by Firestone Rubber Company and in charge of 1500 young rubber

plants going from Sumatra to Liberia. The cargo, when inloaded was 72% safe after

sailing through a three day monsoon of the coast of Somali. LeCato was to finish the mission

if only 5% lived. He made the trip and finished his mission. After his thre year Firestone

job, wanting to give some attention to his sons, he took a position as biologist with the CCC

Mosquito Control in Lewes Delaware wher he worked until 1938. While in Lewes he was

active in Rehoboth civic affairs and led the fight for city water and sewer systems and a new

High School building, In WW II he worked for U.S. Public Health in North Carolina. He

later taught physic and chemistry in local Delmarva Schools, Worcester County, and

Rehoboth fiv years.

LeCATO OF REHOBOTH BAY

Monday, August 11, 1969 Wilmington Morning News

Delmarva as the natural home of John Marvin LeCato, not just Sussex or Worcester

counties, nor Dewey and Rehoboth Beach, but he was not happy away from sale water

or country folks, so, he put his house a slow turtle craw from the shore of Reboboth Bay at

Dewey Beach. He was happy to be able to step barefooted to the bay and pick up a soft

shell crab for breakfast.

Mr LeCato was a Jeffersonian Democrat with a quite passion that mans best hope is

education he had no patience with anyone who did not make a real effort to use his brain.

He had empathy for the handicapped and special concern for mentaly retarded.

John Marvin LeCato who died August 6, 1969, a human scientist helped lead the way.

BILL FRANK ON JOHN LeCATO

Tuesday, August 12, 1969, Wilmington Morning News

John LeCato, for the past several years he has been asking me to visit him at Dewey

Beach with a promise of lots of good stories and a fried chicken dinner.

I did so, Monday, July 28, 1969.

We sat on his porch at the edge of Rehoboth Bay with the bobwhites, blue jays, from

the LeCato garden of paradise , sang out.

Later we drove to visit Homer Pepper and toured the Pepper chcken plant and munched on

Peppers Pride chicken then back through Dagsboro, Angola to the Rehoboth Bay

LeCato hideaway. Stories of the Firestone days in Indonesia and Africa , many stories on

the rust bucket with 15000 rubber plants, mosquitoes, the 1962 storm when he and mom

evacuated to the second floor and turned off all lights so the coast guard thought they had

left for high ground.

There was the Rehoboth school principal days, when the board calleca special meeting

where a board member told him he had a prostitute as a teacher. “She uses lipstick”

said the member. LeCato said he would take care of that but not fire the woman as she was

a very good teacher, He quit the school over a teacher which was inefficient and top

brass in Dover said not to fire her as she was a friend of a friend. He told me little of

his political battles and principal. Having to leave after the fried chicken dinner I said I

would be back.

But last Wednesday, Miles Frederick called. Jack LeCato died this morning.