Leco Perch Strain (1887-1976)

From the 1962 Colorado State Yearbook.

  Multiterm Colorado state senator Leco Perch Strain received brief mention in the previous article on his elder brother Cora Ransom Strain, who served three terms in his state's house of representatives. Like his brother, Leco Strain achieved prominence in business and civic affairs, albeit in a different area of Colorado. Unfortunately, information on this younger Strain brother remains difficult to come by, unusual when one considers his lengthy career in state politics! The son of George Ransom and Luzena Strain, Leco Perch "Lee" Strain was born in Bloomington, Indiana on May 28, 1887.

  Lee Strain's early education was obtained in the state of his birth and in 1907 removed to Colorado, where two of his brothers (Cora and Charles Raymond) had resettled some years previously. After settling in the town of Lamar, Strain joined with his brothers in their ice and coal business until electing to go into business for himself. In 1910 he relocated to La Junta in Otero County and established the La Junta Ice and Storage Company, which also sold feed, grain, and coal. His long affiliation with that business led it to become one of La Junta's "substantial and lucrative enterprises", and in May 1912 married in Colorado to Coy Beavers (1890-1982).  The couple's sixty-three-year union saw the births of three children, George L. (1916-2010), Dean (1920-1945), and Anna Mae (1925-2019). 

   Strain's decades of prominence in the ice and refrigeration industry saw him serve as a member of the nominating committee for the Mountain States Ice Manufacturer Association in 1922 and was a longstanding member of the Rotary Club in his region. Strain first entered the political forum in 1940 when he was elected as a delegate to that year's Republican National Convention, and in June of that year, he and other members of the Colorado delegation journeyed to Philadelphia where Wendell Wilkie was nominated for the presidency. 

From the Rotarian, September 1942.

  Through the 1940s Lee Strain continued with his ice, refrigeration, and storage interests and in 1950 was elected to fill a vacancy in the Colorado state senate, this vacancy occurring due to the death of senator James Barnes Ryan (1872-1949) in July of the previous year. In that contest, Strain bested Democratic candidate Henry Klein, 4,707 votes to 4,213. Taking his seat at the start of the 1951-53 session, this term saw Strain chair the committee on Mining, and also held seats on the committees on Industrial Affairs; the Judiciary; Local Government; State Institutions and Public Buildings; Transporation; and Water and Water Resources.

  Lee Strain would win a second senate term in November 1952, defeating curiously named Democrat Nasby Webster "N.W." Bolling by over 2,000 votes. From 1953-55 he chaired the Local Government Committee and served on the committees on Finance, Interstate Cooperation, State Affairs, and Transportation. Strain would prove successful in his three further senate reelection bids in 1954, 1958, and 1960, and in his final term (1961-65) chaired the committee on State and Public Buildings and sat on the Agriculture, Business Affairs and Finance committees.

  After the conclusion of his time in the senate, Lee Strain retired to private life in La Junta. Little could be found on his life after 1964, except notice of his "long service in community and church organizations". He died in La Junta on May 13, 1976, two weeks shy of his 89th birthday. Strain was survived by his wife and two children and was interred at the Fairview Cemetery in La Junta. Public service would continue in the Strain family with Lee Strain's eldest son George (1917-2010), who, following time as a special agent for the FBI began his own career in government, serving as District Attorney for the counties of Bent, Crowley, and Otero. In 1976 he was named as County Judge for Otero County, serving on the bench until his retirement in 1988.

From the 1953 Colorado Yearbook