Obituary
Leray, Lou
It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Lucien “Lou” Leray, our dear husband, father and grandfather on April 15, 2020 after a battle with lung cancer. He was born in Melfort on March 2, 1948 to Jean and Louise Leray, the 3rd of nine children. He is survived by his wife Antoinette “Toni”, his children: Lisa (Garry) Campbell, Ron (Kama Leier) and Arlo Leray, Diana Leray and Isabel and Sebastian Adams, and Jocelyn (Dana) and Shae Lozinski; as well as siblings: Gerald Leray, Roger Leray, Yvonne Hindley, Norbert Leray and Vivianne Folden and numerous nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents, his sister Marguerite and brother Joe. Lou grew up on the farm near St Brieux. When he was a youngster the family moved to Vancouver, but after a short while they came back to the farm in Saskatchewan. He left school when he was 16 to help out on the farm. Then he went to work on road construction with his dad in the R.M. of Lake Lenore. After getting a little experience he got on with a couple other road construction outfits, one of them being Prefontaine Construction. He often talked about when he helped build the road going north of La Ronge. It was during this time that he met Toni and they got married in October 1968. In the spring of 1970 he decided to apply for work at the Allan Potash Mine. Being mechanically inclined, he was hired and worked mostly in the re-build shop on surface. At the time he thought maybe he’d stay a year or two, so they moved to Allan. In 1973 they started their family and had 4 children whom he loved dearly. The year or two ended up being 41 years at the mine, where he retired in 2011. Over the years he kept busy to support his growing family. He helped many people with machinery repairs, harvesting (he loved combining), doing other mechanical work – especially working on small engines. He also enjoyed blowing snow with his little tractor and cab. In all things he was a perfectionist. Summer vacations were most often spent camping at some lake or other with the kids. He enjoyed fishing, ice fishing in the winter with his buddies and playing cards with family and friends. Lou loved his children and grandchildren – they were his pride and joy. He’d brag about his kids and grandkids to whoever would listen. He was loving, kind, honest, generous and always had a sense of humor. He had many friends. After the children had grown, Lou and Toni did some travelling to various destinations and, wouldn’t you know it, he would encounter someone that he knew, was related to or worked with someone he knew. He would sit and chat with anyone. In February 2019 they put their house up for sale, as Lou felt he could no longer keep up with the yard work. In March he was diagnosed with lung cancer, and just at that time their place sold. The timing was perfect; in May they moved into a condo in Saskatoon where he enjoyed going for coffee with old and new friends at the mall. He will be dearly missed by all. Special thanks to Dr. Manna at the Cancer Center, the home care nurses and the wonderful doctors and nurses at RUH and St. Paul’s Palliative Care. A Private Memorial Service will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, August 8, 2020. Live streaming will be available for those unable to attend. Please click on this link to view the service: youtu.be/ymPiCWKUXrE . Arrangements in care of Ashley Knash – Mourning Glory Funeral Services (306) 978-5200.
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Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Lou Leray April 15 2020..
Mourning Glory Funeral Services
Death notice for the town of: Saskatoon, Province: Saskatchewan