On Monday April 4th at 7:40am Thomas Cassels Leonard passed peacefully at Lakeridge Health Ajax Pickering Hospital, in his 98th year. He is pre-deceased by his ex-wife, Hazel Idella Leonard; and his siblings, Helen McCrossan, Ann Leonard and John Leonard. Tom is remembered by 5 children and their partners: Pat and John Barltrop, Sharon and Fred Taylor, Donna and Richard Jacobs, Wally Leonard and Manon Barel-Leung, Kelly and Boris Koechlin. He leaves behind 9 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren: Kimberly Taylor, Jacqueline Freake, Christopher Leitch, Michael Barltrop, Patrick Leonard, Carolyne Leonard, Danielle Leonard, Lucas Koechlin, William Koechlin, Olivia Freake, Nathan Freake, Benjamin Freake, Matthew Freake, Miles Barltrop, Gwendolyn Barltop, and Koralia Leonard. At family events he could often be heard to exclaim in amazement: “All these people – all here because your mother and I got married,” as well as “it’s too noisy in here, everyone is talking at once!”
Born of young Scottish immigrants almost a century ago, Tom Leonard lived through the ravages of the great Depression as a boy, served his country as a young man in WWII, and bore witness as the city of Toronto came of age.
Fiercely independent (read stubborn), Tom drove until he was 95, lived on his own until he was almost 96 and was lucky enough to spend the last year of life with his son in Ottawa before embarking on a final road trip and a whirlwind tour, staying with each of his four daughters for a week before his last illness. What a wonderful way to call it a wrap.
As a child, Tom lost his mother in childbirth with the birth of his baby brother. Little Johnny died before his second birthday with whooping cough on the very day Tom and his sisters entered foster care at the height of the Great Depression in 1930, a defining time for a 6 year-old child. Later, as an adult, he gave back to the system that helped him. He and Della fostered other children, some of whom remained part of the family for many years to come.
Tom lived many seasons.
He delivered prescriptions on his bicycle for the pharmacy as a teen and swam in the Don River with his mates. He loved school, worked hard and enlisted as soon as he was able.
At the end of the WWII, Tom became a refrigeration mechanic and soon the Borden’s truck with the Elsie the cow logo was a constant feature parked in his driveway. Even when other things were scarce, there was usually ice cream in the freezer for the children and the neighbourhood kids to enjoy. In the days before seatbelts, we often bumped along in the work truck, sitting on milk crates or tool boxes and hoping that he didn’t hit the brakes too hard!
On Ellington Drive in Scarborough, he coached baseball, volunteered as a Boy Scout leader and helped flood the ice rinks in the local park for kids to skate in the winter. Before everyone had air conditioning, neighbours sat out on porches and visited in the evenings, played cards at friends’ houses and had fireworks in their driveways on Queen Victoria’s birthday. Each winter he would go down to the Santa Claus parade with his children, always remembering to take a few cubes of sugar for the horses.
In the late 70’s Tom started a new stage in his life. Single again, he returned downtown, drawn to the city life. He joined the Lion’s club and faithfully handed out brochures and promotional gifts at all the Blue Jays’ home games. Tom is often remembered by friends and family as always having a blue jays hat, a notebook or a pin for the kids when he visited.
He was a believer in life-long learning, at one point he obtained his controls certification but had to decline a new career opportunity with Honeywell since the starting pay was lower and there was a large family to attend to. During a downsizing at the dairy, Tom volunteered to retire although he had seniority. A younger man in his department with a young family would have been let go. Tom returned to George Brown College in his 50’s to obtain his Gas Fitters Licence, tutoring the youngsters in class in math and the metric system while he was there. He began his second career, installing and repairing furnaces and air conditioning units, and continued carrying his toolbox around the city into his 70’s.
Tom was a Freemason with the Zeta Shamrock Masonic lodge No 410 and wore his ring and apron proudly. He marched in many parades through the streets of Toronto with his accordion and a smile.
Tom was a private person and didn’t have a lot of friends, however over his lifetime there were two special best ones with which he spent many hours. His boyhood best friend, Wally Gerrard, unfortunately passed away after receiving his first pension cheque at 65 years old. George Brewer was his second notable friend who he spent many hours with until George too passed away. The curse of living a long life is having to see the ones you know and love pass away too soon.
Finally retiring in his 70’s, Tom and his little dog moved to Whitby, near two of his daughters but living in his own apartment where he valued his independence and self-sufficiency. He was active in the Salvation Army church and belonged to the local Legion for many years. Being in Whitby, he could go to the rink to watch his grandsons play hockey, or the diamond to watch them play ball. He proudly watched his great-grandchildren perform in church plays and he liked to walk his dog in the parks. He was always happy to chat with a child or give a treat to a dog. He told people that his doctor had given him a prescription for a dog, and that walking him several times a day is what kept him healthy for so many years. Apparently it worked.
Tom saw a lot of change throughout his life — from listening to shows on the radio and having to use the telephone in the phone booth down the street, to having telephones in everyone’s pocket and big screen TVs in everyone’s living room. He lived through the discovery of penicillin to the creation of the COVID-19 vaccine (and he got all 3 shots). He faithfully read the Toronto Star every single day as man went to the moon and spacecraft to mars, as Kennedy was shot and Nixon was impeached, as OHIP was created and the Avro Arrow cancelled, as AIDS ravaged the world and the twin towers fell. Tom bore witness to all as the decades passed and Canada grew up.
Death is an inevitable, universal process that eventually catches up with us all. Life is creation and Tom’s legacy is his family who will keep him alive in their memories.
Rest in peace, dad.
Messages of condolence and shared memories can be left for the family by visiting barnesmemorialfuneralhome.com