Leslie Welsford Wilson

WILSON, Leslie Welsford “Les” – 75, of Cole Harbour, N.S., passed away peacefully at the QEII Health Sciences Centre, Victoria General site, Halifax on Sunday, June 13, 2010. Born in Halifax, N.S., he was the son of the late Arthur and Neta (Hartlen) Wilson. Les worked for Nova Scotia Power Corporation for 39 years. Following his retirement, he was the Executive Director of Softball Nova Scotia for a number of years. Throughout most of his life, he was interested and active in many sports, most notably basketball, baseball, and softball. Les was also a softball umpire, officiator and volunteer with softball Nova Scotia. In 1996, Les was inducted into the Hall of Fame in the category of builder. He was known as “Pup” to his grandchildren, and was an imaginative and engaging story teller. Those who knew him were often treated to his quick wit as he always had a funny joke or story to tell. He was a great listener and friend, and truly a gentle giant. Les and Clare enjoyed spending summers at their cottage on the Mira River at Albert Bridge, Cape Breton. He enjoyed going for coffee with his friends and his regular card nights. His fondness of old war movies and westerns was eclipsed only by his interest in politics, the weather, current events, sports, especially his beloved Toronto Blue Jays. Les is survived by his wife of 50 years, Rita (Clare) Burke; son Gary (Vonda), Calgary, Alberta, daughter Karin (Brian) Doucet, Summerside, PE, sisters Audrey (Nelson), Halifax, Ruth (Hayter), Truro, grandchildren Reilly and Thomas, PE, Brenden and Kyle, Alberta, and many nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his daughter Wanda Cheryl, brother Louis, in addition to his parents, his father and mother-in-law Thomas and Elizabeth (MacIntyre) Burke, brothers-in-law Frank Nelson, Ralph Hayter, Patrick Burke, Walter Burke, Charlie Spencer, and sisters-in-law Virginia (Gushue) Burke, and Elizabeth (Burke) Spencer. His remains will be cremated. Visitaiton will be held at J.A. Snow Funeral Home, 339 Lacewood Drive, Halifax from 2-4 and 6-8pm on Wednesday, June 16th. The funeral mass will be held in St. Vincent de Paul Church, Forest Hills Drive, Cole Harbour, N.S., on Thursday, June 17th at 1pm, Father Chinedu Chukwu officiating. Special thanks goes out to nurses Franklin, Kim, and Nancy and everyone else that took care of Leslie over the past 4 months. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the charity of your choice. On-line condolences may be made to the family by visiting www.jasnowfuneralhome.com