Leonidas Demosten

Leonidas Demosten was born on November 11th, 1967, in New Westminster, the youngest of five siblings, and passed away January 4th, 2024, in Burnaby. He was predeceased by two brothers and his mother Anastasia and father Aristeides. He is survived by two older brothers, several nephews and nieces, and relatives both in Greece and in Canada.

Leo was born with Down Syndrome, which presented many challenges. Nonetheless, he attended and graduated from both elementary and high school. As a young adult, before the onset of Alzheimer’s began to ravage his cognitive functions, Leo was very independent and worked at several jobs ranging from recycling plants to returning shopping carts at the Richmond Ikea, and even working at a fast-food restaurant on Number Three Road. Leo was very outgoing and vivacious and enjoyed interacting with merchants in Ladner, the many care givers from DCLS who provided support for so many years, and even complete strangers. He was at his finest at Greek weddings, where he enjoyed dancing till the music was turned off. Prior to his most recent medical issues, Leo enjoyed cycling around town and taking the bus to North Delta and Richmond. Leo, also, enjoyed spending time at the community pool in Ladner near his home. As his illness progressed, his options became increasingly limited. But the one thing that never waned in Leo’s life was his effervescence and joie de vivre. We will all remember with tears in our eyes the joy that Leo brought us during his brief lifetime, and his smile will forever be indelibly etched into our collective memory. We now wish Leo smooth sailing, as he awaits to cross the Styga where the devoted son will be reunited with his mother and father.

We should like to thank the staff at DCLS, especially Siwan Stanton and Tracy Palmer, and so many others there who devoted years advocating to ensure that Leo received the support and care that he needed. Our thanks to Tom Burke who spent years engaging with Leo to ensure that Leo always had something special to look forward to, as well as to care givers Denny, Sonny and May Lou who took Leo into their homes for so many years. Further, our special thanks to Dr. Gemeinhardt at Kin Village for her support, and the dedicated staff on Unit 3B at Burnaby General for their compassion and charity while Leo was under their care.

There will be a trisagion for Leonidas at Saint George’s Orthodox Cathedral, 4500 Arbutus Street, Vancouver, on Thursday, Jan.18th at 7:00 pm, where a funeral service will be held on Friday, Jan. 19th at 11:00 am. Father Nikolaos Sideras officiating. The internment will take place immediately afterwards at Boundary Bay Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to your preferred charity in memory of Leo.