Leon Henry Rodney

The funeral will take place on Sunday November 9, at Gilbert MacIntyre & Son Funeral Home - Hart Chapel (1099 Gordon St. Guelph). Visitation for immediate family will be from 10-11am. The wider community of friends are invited to visit from 11-12pm. The Memorial Service and Celebration of Life will begin at 12pm in the Funeral Home Chapel.

A reception will follow the service downstairs in the fellowship lounge.

Leon’s Parkinson's journey was valiantly travelled over 20 plus years and his more recent struggles with dementia was also met with quiet strength and determination.

Leon was born in Falmouth, Trelawny, Jamaica to Henry and Leah Rodney. He is predeceased by his parents and four brothers.

Leon has lived an adventurous and interesting life and was never known to shy away from trying something new. At age 16, he was baptised in the Seventh-Day Adventist church in Falmouth Jamaica. He attended West Indies College in Mandeville, Jamaica. In 1964, he came to Canada as a student and attended Kingsway College in Oshawa, Ontario. On obtaining a scholarship, Leon moved to the US where he attended the University of Wisconsin at Superior graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in biology. Leon’s love of science sustained throughout his career and life, continually shared with his children. Even while studying, Leon considered Canada home making several long trips back and forth to Toronto where he met Avis Thompson. After brief courtship, the two were married in Toronto on August 15th, 1971. They celebrated their 54th wedding anniversary recently during Leon’s three-month hospitalisation at Guelph General Hospital. Leon has lived a life devoted to his family, friends, church and giving back to his wider community.

Leon has consistently devoted time and talent to his church, holding offices such as elder and deacon in the Belleville and Guelph SDA churches.

Leon loved to sing! Along with many solo performances, his deep bass voice was also a welcome addition to many choirs and quartets.

Always actively involved in the community, Leon was a board member of the Guelph Multicultural Society and was vice-president and a charter member in the formation of the Guelph Caribbean Canadian Association.

His love for gardening and farming and agriculture started when working on the farm at West Indies College. He joined the federal government working as a regional inspector for Agriculture Canada in 1974 when the family moved from London to Belleville. This was one of the happiest periods of Leon's career. He travelled to farms to inspect the cattle and made many friends among the farmers and veterinarians over the span of his career.

Leon had many hobbies. He loved playing dominoes often weekly with family and friends. Leon loved history, geography, literature, and reciting poetry. He was an avid daily swimmer up to the pandemic lockdown. He dabbled in tennis, cycling and restoring old vehicles. Leon was also a talented linguist. He was fluent in Spanish and German, but learned many languages as Leon enjoyed learning to communicate with people from various parts of the world, even to merely greet correctly in a person’s mother tongue. He also learned sign language, and he was able to teach Omar and Karimah the basics and fingerspelling.

Leon loved to cook vegetarian meals and often surprised Avis with new creations.

Left to mourn are his loving and devoted wife and caregiver Avis; his children Omar and Karimah; his grandchildren Sharifa, Omari, Naomi, Ama, Asha, Ovie, Abena, Imani, and Jahzeal. Leon will be missed by his remaining siblings, nieces and nephews, and in-laws in Jamaica, Canada, America, and the UK.

A special note of gratitude to Earl and Joy, Leon’s brother and sister in-law who provided daily support to both Leon and Avis.

Our appreciation extends to all who helped care for Leon as the Parkinson’s Disease progressed: His PSWs who provided compassionate home care; the medical staff at Guelph General Hospital; the tender and compassionate care provided by Hospice Wellington and most of all to Dr. David Hood who continued to visit Leon in our home, in the hospital and in Hospice even though he was retired and no longer responsible for Leon’s care.

If you called, if you visited, if you prayed; please note your acts of kindness and love are deeply appreciated and recorded in the Books of Heaven!

In honour of Leon’s legacy, the family encourages memorial donations to Parkinson’s Canada and Hospice Wellington in the links below.