Leonard William Gast, 87, made his transition Friday, Jan. 5, 2007.

He enjoyed his boyhood in Detroit where he was born May 17, 1919.

Mr. Gast served in the U.S. Navy aboard the carrier Bunker Hill in the Pacific area.

He moved to Idyllwild from San Diego in 1983 and was an active partner in L&L Property Management. He was president of the Idyllwild Property Owners Association for several years.

For the last 15 years, he traveled twice yearly to New York state where he instructed at several sites, teaching others “to really see, as a watercolorist, what they have been looking at.”

He enjoyed great popularity as an instructor with the Elderhostel and Leisure Study programs and Idyllwild Arts Summer Program.

He was an avid sailor who not only enjoyed the annual grey whale migration south from his boat in San Diego, but also introduced many others to the art of sailing.

He was a member of the Hemet Center of Spiritual Living (the Hemet Church of Religious Science).

A celebration of his life is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 21 at the church, 40450 Stetson Ave., with apple pie and ice cream following the service.

Mr. Gast is survived by his life companion, Lasca Terhorst and his granddaughter, Janie Lynn Stewart.

In lieu of flowers, donations in his name may be made to Hemet Valley Hospice, 890 West Stetson Ave., Suite B, Hemet, CA 92543; Heifer Project International,1 World Ave., Little Rock, AR 72202; or the Church of Religious Science, 40450 Stetson Ave., Hemet, CA 92543.