My uncle Leonard, my mom's brother, passed away on 23 August. We went home for a week to support Mom and be there for the funeral. We have seen a lot of Leonard and Florence over the years, especially since they moved to High River some 8 years ago. When I brought Dale there to meet my parents, I also took him over to meet Leonard and Florence. He and Dale hit it off, with their sense of humour and farming in common.
He is shown here on the left with his wife, Florence, and Arnie and Donna (my mom's sister), I think the day before my wedding (these four helped alot in preparing for the wedding). If I find a closer-up photo, I'll add that to this posting
I wanted to print the eulogy that my mom, Darren and I wrote. It is written from the perspective of Darren, who delivered the eulogy at the funeral:
Eulogy for Leonard Lowry
28 August 2007
My uncle Leonard was a man who used his time on this earth fully, to work, to help bring up a family together with Aunt Florence, and to contribute to those around him. He combined the strength and gentleness of his father, with the charm and cheerfulness of his mother. He called the shots the way he saw them, and if he said he would do something, you knew he would get it done. He was a tough guy with the firmest handshake around, but with a kind and spiritual nature, who cared about people. I remember that, as a young child, when our families got together, he would squeeze my hand and pull me towards him so he could ask me questions and chat a bit.
Leonard Stewart Lowry was born on 28 July 1929 in Morden, Manitoba, the eldest child of Stewart and Veda Lowry. He was raised on the farm near Darlingford, with his sisters Jean and Donna.
As a child, Leonard rode to school in a horse-drawn van, or later on in a school bus, driven for some years by his own father. In later years after he returned to Darlingford, he himself drove the van.
As a young man, Leonard wooed the local schoolteacher, Florence McQuay from nearby Treherne, and they were married on July 10, 1951 in Darlingford. After a short period living in New Westminster, they settled in Winnipeg for six years, during which Gloria and Lorne were born. He worked as a long-haul semi-truck driver while in Winnipeg.
The call to farming drew them back to Darlingford to the family farm in 1960, after which Kelly was born. The Lowry family remained in Darlingford for another decade, where Leonard was involved in the church board and in community events. Like his father before him, he was nicknamed Riley by community members, a reference to his Irish ancestry. They stayed there until the end of 1971, when they moved to Calgary.
At this point, his mechanical skills honed in his previous occupations found use in his new career as a crane operator. It was a fairly easy transition to make, from farmer to crane operator. Leonard was well-liked in his work with Trotter & Morton, was honest and had integrity in his dealings with his colleagues and clients.
Their children grew up and eventually moved on to take up their own pursuits, but always have been nearby. Florence and Leonard made friends with many people in various settings, such as the 50+ clubs and at the many dances they would attend.
After they moved to Calgary, and because Florence was working as a teacher, Leonard added home economics to his career skills, in that he started to help with the cooking. He took great pride in baking bread, buns, cakes, pies, and many other dishes, in which he demonstrated great creativity. There were times when Florence was hardly allowed in the kitchen. He would take three recipes and come up with a great dish. His grandchildren all loved coming to visit, anticipating those fresh buns.
Florence and Leonard moved to High River in 1998, where they settled into the community easily. He has appreciated the friendship of many people, old friends and new, including the visit of old friends from Manitoba.
In thinking of how to write this eulogy, several family members have talked of his sense of humour, his deadpan jokes often delivered with his tough guy voice, and his love of laughter.
Leonard’s family laughs when they think about him playing Mary Poppins in a game of charades, leaping around and pretending to carry an umbrella.
As a child, he went to a play called Sulphur & Molasses, and because of the way he laughed through the funny lines, the cast took him with them as they performed their plays throughout the countryside.
He loved teasing his grandchildren, who enjoyed him immensely. He didn’t mind having a joke played on him either. After Christmas dinner one year, he awoke from a leisurely nap to discover he had silly string sprayed all over his head by two young nieces.
Leonard loved cars. He always made sure he had good cars, new cars, and that they were well-maintained, clean and taken care of as if they were his babies. It was often a guessing game to see what kind of car the Lowrys would show up in when they came to visit. And his mechanic here in High River said he liked to come to the shop and just visit. You may be aware that he managed to win a truck here this year, which he actually traded in for a van to replace the one he already had. That was the van he sold to me. I knew I couldn’t get a car in better condition than one that belonged to Uncle Leonard, the only problem was following in his footsteps. It meant we had to keep the van clean, lest Uncle Leonard would see it one day and find it in less than immaculate condition.
In recent years, Leonard’s health deteriorated to the point of decreasing his mobility, but his humour remained intact, even to the last hours of his life. With his family about him in his hospital room, there was good spirit. When he asked Florence to trim his fingernails, he presented his hand as if receiving a manicure. When it was suggested that he have his fingernails painted red, he said “toes too”. He was always well-groomed, taking great care of colour and style.
In recent weeks, he wasn’t happy about having to be in the hospital, and he even joked with family members about escaping out the window on a rope of bedsheets. But he had fun with the nurses and felt respected by them.
The last time I saw Uncle Leonard was a week ago today, I joked that they had moved him to the room directly across from the nursing station so that he could keep an eye on the nurses and make sure they weren't getting up to any shenanigans. It was the kind of joke I think he himself would have made, though last Wednesday he was fairly subdued and I wasn't able to tell if he was laughing. I also said that it would be a while before he was well enough that I could help him escape out the window, as we had joked about before.
It turned out that his soul was able to wing its flight quite soon after that, to make its escape to the Heavenly Realm, like a bird flying free from its cage. Leonard will leave a hole in our lives but due to his strength of character our happy memories of him will remain intact in the years to come.
