Les Richard Joy

As a young boy, Les was very friendly and outgoing. Others were drawn to his personality and he never had any shortage of friends. Growing up, he was a fierce competitor. He didn't back down and he almost always walked away the victor.

After he finished school, he married and had two beautiful daughters. He watched them grow and often remarked on how glad he was that they weren't like him. He was wrong though. They were just like him in so many ways, and all the better for it.

He spent his last years opening his home to an evolving group of homeless and dis-advantaged people. Some were nice, some were decidedly not. Les rarely banned anyone once he invited them into his house. This included some people who were almost universally loathed. Les once said, jokingly, that he needed brownie points for when he got to heaven. He may never have shared this again. He didn't think that the nice guy image would ever be a comfortable fit.

He lived his life as he saw fit. He was glad to be "old-school" and rigid. He met his end without much complaint and he regretted even those small bits that escaped from him. Make no mistake, his passing turned off a light and the world is noticeably dimmer for it.