Farewell to Mr. Leis - A Great Neighbor
In his honor, I am posting a message to our neighborhood swim team families from one of the team officials and neighbor Scott Nuzum. This tribute says it perfectly.
There Goes My Hero
Whenever a new family moves into Lakevale, one of the first questions they’re asked is, “Do you have kids?” If the neighbor responds in the affirmative, they are invariably met with a follow-up question: “When will your kids be joining the swim team?”
For the uninitiated, this question can be quite baffling—particularly if one grew up outside of northern Virginia. No sooner have these good people stepped foot inside their new homes than they’re met with multiple adults seeking to recruit their children for a summer swim league. These new neighbors surely must wonder what kind of Pleasantville cult they’ve joined.
And then the kids join the swim team, and these new neighbors suddenly realize that they haven’t joined just any summer swim team. No sir, they’ve joined the Lakevale Estates Dolphins. And as crazy as it sounds, that makes all the difference in the world.
Summers in Lakevale are special. From late-May through late-July, the families of Lakevale Estates come together to participate in a half-century-old ritual that bonds its members for life: the Northern Virginia Swim League (NVSL). For two glorious months, this neighborhood of two-hundred-eighty-odd homes transforms into a modern-day Mayberry where our kids bike to swim practice with their friends, parent volunteers join forces to set up the pool deck for meets, and an entire neighborhood rallies around a team.
In Lakevale, Saturday mornings in July possess an almost magical aura akin to Augusta in April or Fenway in October. These are days where the cheers of spectators—amplified by the lake—can be heard throughout the neighborhood, where breakfast burritos and candy constitute an acceptable weekend breakfast, and where kids between the ages of six and 18 unite to compete under the same banner.
As one of only three community pools competing across 100-plus NVSL teams, we are luckier than most. We get to watch our kids, and the kids down the street, transform over a dozen successive summers from mini-Ds to young adulthood. These young adults move away, but they leave knowing that they have the support of an entire community behind them. And years later, some of those swimmers return to the neighborhood as parents and the cycle repeats itself.
Victories and achievements are sweeter in Lakevale because they occur within the broader context of our close-knit community, with people whom we’ve chosen to call neighbors. But this also means that in moments of tragedy, our sorrows cut deeper, as they literally strike close to home.
Sadly, we find ourselves in the midst of one of those great community tragedies as we are forced to confront the passing of Brett Leis—loving husband to Betsy, proud father to Jack, friend to us all. Brett wore many hats during his lifetime—as an elite Clearance Diver in the Royal Australian Navy, as a hyperbaric technician in his post-military career, and as an FCPS school bus driver (his “retirement job,” as he put it)—but for many of us, he was most fondly known as Team Rep for the Lakevale Estates Dolphins summer swim team.
Brett’s love for our community’s swim team was contagious. He loved it because it was an “honest sport”—to be a great swimmer, one couldn’t take shortcuts, but instead needed to work hard. He loved it because it was the only sport where 18-year-olds coached and competed alongside six-year-olds. He loved it, ultimately, because of what this team means to the kids and the community.
Brett devoted months of his life to ensuring that summer swim season was fun for our families. He assumed massive administrative burdens and managed every imaginable personality type as he navigated the operational side of the northern Virginia youth swimming scene. He shielded “his people”—that is, the rest of Lakevale’s parent volunteers—from the negative aspects of summer swim so that we could collectively enjoy the season.
On the pool deck, Brett was the face of Lakevale swimming, universally liked and respected by all. In an era of hyper-competitiveness, Brett was in many ways the anti-NVSL team rep. Rather than sport an official team polo like most team reps, Brett opted for Hawaiian shirts adorned with prints of a certain golden retriever. He could disarm and charm with a friendly “How ya doin’, mate,” and genuinely sincere questions about opposing teams’ swimmers and families. No matter if Lakevale won or lost a meet, he would treat opponents with a level of courtesy and respect that is sadly unusual in this day and age.
During meets, Brett did not feel the need to cheer loudly—“it doesn’t make any difference to the kids; they can’t hear us,” he’d say. In spite of this (or maybe because of it), Brett came across as our team’s biggest supporter. He knew every kid by name, knew their favorite strokes, and knew their times in each event. He was always there to offer an encouraging word, win or lose. And whenever a swimmer achieved a personal best or a record, Brett was the first to congratulate the swimmer and comment about how all the hard work had paid off.
Brett was a natural leader who volunteered to lead the Dolphins for no other reason than because it was the right thing to do. Through his example, Brett taught each of us that leadership means service and service means love.
Though born half a world away, Brett could have not been more Lakevale if he had been born and raised in a split-level on West Meredith Drive. This man, who could be found strolling our cherry-tree-lined streets with an obedient, leash-less golden retriever in tow, who led scout troops and coached baseball, who cheered for the Eagles, and who loved his family above all else, embraced our entire community with his whole being and was everything a neighbor should be.
That Brett should suddenly fall silent in what many would consider the prime of life is not just tragic, it is grossly unfair. He leaves behind a family that will forever mourn his absence. We will never again hear Brett remark that with Betsy he had “married up.” We will never again be able to observe the quiet pride that he showed when Jack broke multiple swimming records this summer.
Brett’s death forces us all to confront the uncomfortable truth that we never know how much time we have left. But in true Brett fashion, he has left us with the gift of his incredible example. He has shown us what it means to live with kindness and compassion and patience. He has shown us what it means to be a member of a community. He’s reminded us that what we have here in Lakevale is truly special and that we must work together as a community to preserve it. We’ve all made the conscious choice to live in Lakevale, and with that choice we’ve committed ourselves to our neighbors and our community.
Inspired by Brett's legacy, our collective focus must now shift to Betsy and Jack. While we acknowledge that no one can truly fill the void left by Brett, we can pay tribute to his memory by enveloping his family in the warmth and solidarity of our remarkable community. In the ensuing weeks, months, and years, we'll be presented with numerous chances to express to Betsy and Jack their significance in our lives, echoing the unique way Brett made each of us feel cherished.
A celebration of Brett’s life will be held on Friday, November 10th from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department Fire Station. Memorial contributions may be made to Jack’s college fund.
Brett’s absence around Lakevale will be felt for many years to come. Next summer will be particularly difficult given the outsized role Brett played in leading the Dolphins. But though Brett may no longer be with us, his memory will forever endure as a man who left his community far better than he found it. May we all be so lucky.
We will miss you, Brett.
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