THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 4, 1996 TAG: 9602020152
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Close Up
SOURCE: Rebecca A. Myers
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines
It's not 18 holes of golf or fly fishing in Florida that awaits Capt. Leslie G. Ashton, a deputy sheriff about to retire from the Portsmouth Sheriff's Office.
Ashton, 64, intends to spend most of his free time in Dallas, getting to know the 42-year-old daughter he met for the first time 18 months ago.
Ashton was a 22-year-old Army recruit serving in the Korean War when a woman he had dated before leaving Texas wrote to him in March 1954 to tell him that he was a father. His daughter, Pamila, had been born three months earlier.
But before Ashton could get home again, he and the baby's mother lost contact with each other, and she married another man, he said.
Once back in Texas, Ashton distributed fliers with photos of the baby's mother in the towns where he thought she might be living. He said he also searched numerous phone directories - unaware that she had married and changed her last name.
Throughout his 20-year career with the Army's military police corps, Ashton made frequent trips to Texas to continue his search - but to no avail.
Ashton married in 1957, but the couple never had children. After leaving the military, Ashton settled in Portsmouth in 1972 and joined the Portsmouth Sheriff's Office a year later.
The captain supervised about a dozen people as commander of the civil process division, which is responsible - among other things - for executing evictions and escorting funeral processions in the city of Portsmouth. Ashton also commanded the Sheriff's Honor Guard.
Though separated by 1,500 miles, Ashton never gave up hope that he would someday find his daughter, he said. In his absence, Ashton's relatives in Texas vowed to continue his search. Then in July of 1994, Ashton received the phone call he'd been waiting for.
``Hi, Daddy,'' the voice said.
Ashton's relatives in Texas had finally succeeded in finding his daughter. They met for the first time in August of 1994. Ashton, who now finds himself a great-grandfather as well, still has difficulty talking about that first meeting without getting emotional.
``I'm going to miss the Honor Guard and the Civil Process Unit,'' said Ashton. ``They're like family to me.''
But there's a new family now that Ashton is happy he won't have to miss anymore.
``She's my only child,'' he said simply, ``and I think about her all the time.''
Name: Leslie G. Ashton.
Nickname: Bear.
Neighborhood: Cavalier Manor.
Number of years in Portsmouth: 24.
Birthplace: Wheelock, Texas.
Birthdate: 4-14-31.
Occupation: Deputy Sheriff, Portsmouth Sheriff's Office.
What job other than your own would you like? None.
Marital Status: Married to Bertha Mae.
Children: Pamila, 42.
Grandchildren: Two grandchildren: Sherrard, 9, and Shekel, 22. One great-grandchild: Shatosha, 8.
Fondest childhood memory: Fishing with my grandmother and catching a four-pound catfish.
First concert: Drifters.
What song title best describes your life? ``May The Work I Have Done Speak For Me.''
If you won the lottery, what's the very first thing you'd buy? Pay off all my family bills and set up a trust fund for my grandchildren.
If you could trade places for just one day with anyone in the world, who would it be and why? No one. I like who I am.
Biggest accomplishment: United with my daughter after 40 years.
Most embarrassing moment: At a banquet, I noticed I was wearing mismatched socks.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? Nothing.
Perfect way to spend the day: Fishing or working in my yard.
I can't resist: My wife's chocolate chip cookies.
Favorite Portsmouth restaurant: Bertha Mae's kitchen.
Favorite Portsmouth hangout: My residence.
Biggest problems facing Portsmouth: Drugs, violence, unemployment.
If you had three wishes for Portsmouth, what would they be?
Unity
Make Portsmouth safer for the elderly
Parents to become more involved in their children's upbringing.
Other than its small-town atmosphere, what do you like about living in Portsmouth? Seafood. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MARK MITCHELL
by CNB