“Elder O. Vincent Haleck,” Liahona, May 2011, 138
Elder O. Vincent Haleck
Of the Seventy
From a young age Elder Otto Vincent Haleck paid tithing, fasted, and studied scriptures—and then he met the missionaries and was baptized.
Elder Haleck’s mother was a member of the Church but hadn’t attended in years. His father wasn’t a member of the Church. Yet the family paid tithing, fasted weekly, read the Bible daily, and gave of what they had to those in need. Elder Haleck comes from a legacy of faith.
Elder Haleck was born in January 1949 in American Samoa. His parents, Otto and Dorothy Haleck, sent him to school in California, USA. At the age of 17, he noticed that some friends in student government were different from other students. “They invited me to Mutual, and the rest is history,” Elder Haleck says.
Elder Haleck received a bachelor’s degree in advertising and marketing from Brigham Young University. He owns a number of businesses in American Samoa and is involved in philanthropic work. Elder Haleck and his wife, Peggy Ann Cameron, were married on June 29, 1972, in the Provo Utah Temple. They are the parents of three children.
Eventually Elder Haleck’s whole family found the gospel. Elder Haleck had the privilege of baptizing his 80-year-old father and seeing his mother return to Church activity after 50 years of marriage.
Prior to his call to the Second Quorum of the Seventy, Elder Haleck served as a full-time missionary in the Samoa Apia Mission, bishop, stake high councilor, patriarch, stake president, and most recently, president of the Samoa Apia Mission.
Elder Haleck believes that all his life experiences have led him to where he is now. “I look back on my life, and I can say that I can see the hand of the Lord,” Elder Haleck says. “I’m grateful and honored by the confidence the Lord has placed in us. I love the Lord and hope to be a good instrument. I know the Lord will help me.”