CREASER, Leon Jason
Nine months after his wife’s passing in September 2021, Feltzen South’s Leon Creaser has been reunited with the love of his life, Marina Creaser, the couple now perhaps playing a few hands of forty-fives in heaven, or enjoying a coffee together in some celestial Tim’s.
Or perhaps Marina is organizing the one birthday party of Leon’s that they missed. Born on Boxing Day in 1931, Leon rarely got birthday parties as a youngster, whether due to the proximity to Christmas or the fact that his mother, Nellie, died when he was six. But after Leon and Marina married in 1956, there wasn’t a year that his birth wasn’t celebrated with family.
Born in Riverport to Nellie and Jason Creaser, Leon’s formal schooling only reached as far as Grade 7, after which he worked on the land and fished with his father. At 16, he signed on with Ritcey Bros. Fisheries, first as a saltfish worker, and later as a carpenter and welder, his hard work elevating him to the position of foreman. He was with the company for 42 years, but was hardly idle in retirement, continuing to fish part-time for herring, mackerel and lobster, and passing the techniques of the trade along to his son, Greg, and grandson, Thomas. He fished until he was 83, and two years ago, his unnamed boat was christened “Leon’s Legacy.”
A kind man with a warm smile, Leon would help or befriend anyone. On shopping trips to the malls of Halifax, Bridgewater or Maine with Marina and the kids – they had three: Cathy, Greg and Shelley – Leon would often sit on a bench while the others ventured into the stores. When they returned, they would often find him deep in conversation with strangers as if they were lifelong friends.
He was a sports fan, particularly of the Toronto Blue Jays and Montreal Canadiens, but rarely made it all the way through a nighttime broadcast, typically dozing off in his favourite armchair. “Just resting my eyes”, he’d declare when woken.
His 1956 marriage to Marina coincided with his joining St. John’s By The Sea Evangelical Lutheran Church, and in his retirement he enjoyed helping Marina make quilts – he would cut the fabric into squares – or join the church ladies at St. Matthew’s in nearby Rose Bay to assemble them.
The pair enjoyed travelling later in life, venturing to Cuba and Myrtle Beach with friends Gloria and Ernst, but home was where Leon’s legacy shone brightest: He helped Greg build his house, and even his bad hips couldn’t keep him from crawling on the floor to play with his grandchildren, with the cats, Tigger and Molly, in tow.
Leon Creaser passed away peacefully on June 16, 2022, at Harbour View Haven Nursing Home in Lunenburg. He was 90.
He was predeceased by his parents, Nellie and Jason Creaser, and his wife of 65 years, Marina Creaser (nee Zellers). He is survived by his brother, Eric (Mary, deceased); children Cathy (Anthony Corkum), Greg (Barb Janes) and Shelley (Steve Bezanson); and grandchildren Thomas and Isabelle Stewart and Cole and Chase Bezanson.
A graveside service will be held at the Feltzen South Cemetery on June 24 at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada, SHAID Tree Animal Shelter, or Feltzen South Cemetery are appreciated.
www.sweenyfuneralhome.ca
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Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Leon Jason Creaser Thursday June 16th 2022..
Death notice for the town of: Lunenburg, Province: Nova Scotia