I first met Del Loder when I moved to Washington state in 1985 and joined the Chief Seattle Council. Del was a font of information about the history and all other aspects of the Order of the Arrow. He was also a great mentor for me while I was an Associate Chapter advisor, while I was putting together monthly meeting programs. I remember Del telling me to be open to trying just about anything (as long as it was appropriate for scouting) to see how it would work, particularly if it had not been tried before. Del was steeped in the history of scouting and the O-A, but he was not mired in the history – he was always open to new ideas and new things.

Those of us who have been around awhile also have fond memories of Del’s occasional short appearances on “Almost Live”. Very small snippets when they needed a guy whose demographics he met to say a word or two. Who can forget the Almost Live segment on “Oddities in the Seattle Area” when following Tracy Conway’s snippet on “I am the only woman in the Seattle area who does not owe money to Nordtrom’s”, we saw Del saying “I am the only person in the Seattle area who has never tried Thai food”.

Rest in peace, Del, you will always be remembered and cherished.

Charley Bates