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Chaminade College Preparatory Distinguished Alumnus/Alumna and Prayer Breakfast Tuesday, January 31, 2008 Father Ted Ley, SM '59

Distinguished Alumnus of the Year 2008

Fr. Ted was the first “aspirant” of the Society of Mary. As ASB President of Chaminade in 1957-58, he was unable to reside in the juniorate, so a program was devised to enable candidates to remain at home while preparing for Novitiate. This developed into today’s pre-Novitiate stage for the Society of Mary worldwide.    Fr. Ted professed first vows as a Marianist in 1959, in the group with current faculty member Brother Skip Matthews and former H.S. Principal Fr. Ray Malley. He professed his perpetual vows in 1965 and was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Timothy Manning in 1971 at St. Bernardine’s (Woodland Hills), the parish of his parents, Ted and the late Statia Ley.  His teaching and ministry took Fr. Ted to Marianist communities in San Francisco; Fribourg, Switzerland; St. Louis; and Honolulu as well as several parishes in California. He is currently Administrator of Saint Ann’s Church in the Elysian Valley near downtown Los Angeles.   Fr. Ted has degrees in Philosophy, Theology, and Music and he speaks French, Spanish and German. His musical talents helped him to win the national choral conducting prize of the AmericanGuild of Organists in 1963. He has also composed songs in Hawaiian that have been featured on radio and directed the Bicentennial Collegiate Choir that represented Hawaii at the Salute to the States in Philadelphia and Washington, DC in 1976. Fr. Ted founded The Schola Cantorum of the Pacific® in Southern California, an association of adults and families who cultivate Liturgical and general choral and instrumental music, while providing Music Education gratis to less-advantaged children. In 1981, Fr. Ted gave his doctoral dissertation in Music Education at USC, which traced the history of vocal pedagogy in the Catholic Church before Vatican II, and proposed a new curriculum. Aside from music, Fr. Ted is also very concerned with the safety of children. As Youth and Family Life Minister at St. Anthony parish in Gardena, he developed a program that reduced gang membership in the Harbor Gateway. He attributes his interest in neighborhood child welfare to the influence of his father, whose storied police career in Los Angeles included foundational youth work. In 2001, Fr. Ted returned to Chaminade as High School Chaplain until a sabbatical two years ago, however he still assists campus ministry at Chaminade when he can. As Chaplain, Fr. Ted had the joy of blessing the field in honor of Coach John Vukelich, who kept team statistics and ran the ticket booth back at the “Old Chaminade.” Fr. Ted is genuinely proud of his family and of Chaminade, and grateful to the Brothers for inspiring him to follow in their footsteps. Past Honorees: Tom Wafer '59 Charles "Bud" Hayes '69 Ron Insana '79 Thomas Condon '56 Charles Behm '57 Kenneth Purcell '57 Richard Hunsaker '58 Fred Gabourie '59 Henry Burdick '60 James Watters '69 Jay Leupp '81 Last modified: February 01, 2008 Yannis Grammatis