Lawrence Barrie Leech
Obituary
LEECH, Lawrence Barrie
With sadness and love, we announce the passing of Barrie on February 28, 2024, at the age of 85, in London Ontario. He passed peacefully with family by his side, and is free to run with his border collies once again.
Barrie was a devoted husband, father, brother, Papa, coach and friend. He won nine Canadian handball championships between 1963-1975, was inducted into the Canadian Handball Hall of Fame in 2010, and was also a varsity basketball and football athlete. He was an avid dog lover, sports lover, reader, and golfer, and was a respected school principal with the Toronto District School Board. Barrie will be sorely missed by his loving wife Chris, daughters Raewyn (Sean) and Tara (Kevin), sister Deborah Gibson (Scott), and grandchildren Paige, Nina, Nolan, Troy, Bryce and Callum. It brings us comfort knowing he will be welcomed by, and reunited with, his beloved border collies Godfrey, Barkley, Bailey, Cody, and most recently Finn.
The family would like to thank the wonderful medical team at Victoria Hospital, London, for their care and compassion. As per Barrie’s wishes, there will be no memorial service. In lieu of flowers, donations in Barrie’s memory may be made to the OVC Pet Trust University of Guelph, or Covenant House Toronto. Cremation London & Middlesex entrusted with arrangements, 519-858-2467.
If the measure of life is the impact that you have on those that are left behind, there is no doubt that Barrie lived it large. Whether you were blessed to be a part of Barrie’s family, a dear friend, a lifelong golf buddy, a poker chum, a sports competitor, a student, a teaching peer, a neighbour, or even a neighbourhood dog…whatever measure of time you had to spend with Barrie there is no doubt that it was impactful. Humour. Kindness. Caring. Honesty. Sincerity. Love. Barrie gave us all of these things, and for that, he is a part of us…big or small. Thank you Barrie, never lost or forgotten.
Sincerest best wishes to those that will forever remember Barrie.
Please accept our love and condolences during this difficult time.
May you all find peace as you face the difficult days ahead and comfort in the enduring legacy of an extraordinary man. We’re very sorry for your loss. Sending much love from Texas.
The White family.
Dear Chris, Raewyn and Tara. We were so saddened to read of Barrie’s passing in Newmarket Today. We have missed you in the neighbourhood ever since you moved to London. Barrie was such a positive force for good and the grandchildren will have benefitted from that for sure. He took such delight in the birth of each of those children and shared his joy with us many times as we dog -walked the neighbourhood.
Our deepest sympathy to you all.
john and Jane Lennox and children, Mia, Anna and Jeffers
Our most heartfelt condolences to you Chris, your family and all those Barrie left behind.
We had the pleasure of meeting Barrie shortly after we all moved into Byron.. actually , we bought the first house they were looking at here. We all joked about that in the years that followed. Our love for Barrie started with Fynn and our dog Max. Barrie would walk Fynn on the path behind our house. It wasn’t long before Fynn, was always waiting at our fence for us to come out on the deck and throw him cookies. He’d have a visit with Max while we had long and lovely chats with Barrie.
When we were away, Barrie and Fynn would take over the job of changing the water daily in our dog watering station. Not to mention Fynn having a great time playing with the water from the hose.
We are both better folks for knowing Barrie and will miss him deeply.
We can almost hear all your pups and ours playing frisbee and barking in delight to have you with them.
Dear Chris and family.
I know how much you will miss Barrie, his smile, his chuckle, his warmth, and his love. After all these years, I will miss him too. Thank goodness for treasured memories.
Dear Chris, Raewyn, Tara and families,
We are deeply saddened that you have had to say goodbye to Barrie, a loving husband, father and Grandfather. What a legacy he has left with each of you. Treasure those memories and be grateful that you have had such a wonderful person in your lives. Thinking of you with love.
Over the last little while, since he moved to London, a few times per year, a few of us former colleagues from teaching days would muster in Brantford to share time over lunch. Barrie, as one would expect was wonderful company with his anecdotes recounted often not only in his self effacing manner and also his combative take no prisoners approach. Together we solved the problems of the world, created some new ones, had some good belly laughs and also shed a tear or two.
Thank you Chris for your caring guiding hand, ensuring as best you could that the path was clear for him to make it not only to and from Brantford but to all of his other destination.
Rest peacefully Barrie.
elvin wingay
My sincerest sympathies Sean and Raewyn. Thinking of you and your family at this difficult time.
My favourite memory of Barrie naturally includes Finn. While walking one summer evening I saw Finn lying in the front yard and he saw us approaching… knowing we had treats. Barrie sat on the front veranda, reading on his iPad or maybe catching a few winks. Finn saw opportunity! Finn looked back to ensure Barrie wasn’t looking, looked both ways and quickly and very quietly dashed across the road for treats and then just as quickly returned to front yard nap position. It never happened and I’m positive Finn winked and gave me a high five knowing he’d gotten away with it. I confessed to Barrie days later and we had a good chuckle.
I would pay to see this reunion with Barrie and his border collies. It seems fitting to add that Barrie was a shepherd and not just of the puppies. I imagine many a student benefited from Barrie’s teaching and life coaching, we all did.
To all who loved him, Princess Chris, Raewyn, Tara and your beautiful families, take comfort in knowing how proud he was of all of you and how very much you were truly loved.
Rest in peace with your pups Barrie. Bob, Lorilee & Byron
Barrie was someone I met later in life and we stayed in touch after family moves. What a wonderful man! I will always be thankful of his friendship. Rest in peace friend. Andy
I did not know Barrie for very long, but he and Fynn were some of the first kind faces we met when we moved to the Wickerson neighbourhood in 2018. We marvelled at the gentle personality of both Fynn and Barrie, and our dog, Bentley, always loved being spoiled by Barrie’s yummy doggie treats. What a kind man – he made a lasting impression on all of my family and we are better for having met him.
Our sincere condolences to Chris and the whole family.
Chris, Raewyn and Tara, please accept my condolences on Barrie’s passing.
Barrie was an engaging and engaged character. Nothing was ever done in half measures with Barrie whether in his athletic endeavours, his connection with people or his love of his family. He was so very proud of Raewyn and Tara.
I met Barrie at Mill Run Golf Club where he had established a strong bond with members and staff and where he used his dog handling skills to resolve the ever present geese problem. We travelled for several years to Santee where his “Rev” persona provided hours of joy and entertainment to the “flock” of golfers that gathered there each fall. It was there where I learned how respected Barrie was amongst his Toronto Board peers.
Chris, Raewyn and Tara, I know you will miss Barrie. The same will be the case for his many friends with whom he has connected over the years.
Barrie was a treasured neighbour who always took the time to stop by, on his walks with Finn, to chat. He was a lovely soul; kind-hearted, humble and humorous. His many friends and family are in my thoughts and prayers. Barrie will be tremendously missed.
Dear Chris,
With deppest Sympathy, on your loss of your bloved partner.
My Thoughts and prayers are with you and your family… I know how difficult this can be having lost Martin only 6 months ago.
May you find peace after losing your soul mate, with your family and friends.
May the love you shared with Barry remain a partof you forever.
Best wishes
Lizanne Bertrand ..Partner of .( Martin McSkimming )
Chris, I am so sorry for this monumental loss. I was always so impressed by Barrie’s devotion to and passion for his family . I enjoyed our times together on the course even when he wore two different shoes and didn’t realize till we were somewhere on the back nine. His commitment to, and passion for, you and your precious girls (Raewyn and Tara) will always be my strongest memory of Barrie. I will be keeping you all in my prayers in the days ahead and if you need anything please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Hugs to you all,
Emma
Barry and I both taught in the north end with TDSB at the same time and faced each other many times in sport competitions.He was super competitive but always played fair and by the rules. The best moments we had together was with the SANTEE GOLF GROUP in S.C. Sitting around one evening we decided t he group needed an injection of wit and humor.Both of us had a rather subtle and dry sense of wit and thus was created THE REV AND THE DEAC both prominent leaders in THE CHURCH OF THE WHATS HAPPENING NOW We performed crazy skits for our flock(( the group)) and had many laughs.The others seemed to like it and we carried on for several years later. We got to act like fools and yet bring some laughter to others. Thanks for the great times and memories REV.
You may be gone but never forgotten. RIP my friend. THE DEACON BRUCE GODBOLD
My condolences to all the family .You were lucky to have such a wonderful man in your life Peace be with you at this time Remember the good times
The value of a ‘ good neighbour ‘ is without measure.
Barrie and Chris lived next door to us for over thirty years.
How we have missed them since their move to London.
It has warmed my heart to read here how they were embraced by their new community.
Sweet Finn stealing hearts wherever he went.
Dearest Chris & Family,
Barrie’s love for you all has gone nowhere..neither Death nor Time can ever take that from you,it remains always,giving strength to each of you.
With such fond memories,
Colleen Milley & family.
My deepest condolences Sean and Raewyn. Your family is in my thoughts during this difficult time.
Dear Chris and Family
We are so saddened to hear of Barrie`s passing. We remember him as a happy, dog loving, friendly neighbour who always had time to chat as we encountered him while walking our dogs past your home for many years here in Newmarket.
We were always impressed at how well behaved all of his border collies were especially because we had beagles who preferred to follow their nose rather than our instructions .
We still think and reminisce about Barrie, you and the collies as we continue walking our dogs past your former home on Arnold Crescent.
With our sincere condolences
Rick and Janice Bondi
Chris and family, there is really nothing I can add to all the comments of others regarding what a great person Barrie was to friends and colleagues except that I was the extremely lucky beneficiary of having him in my life for the past 55 years. After retirement we kept tabs on each other with monthly phone calls and the lunches in Etobicoke when he lived in Newmarket. When I moved to St. Catharines and he to London we kept up the tradition as mentioned by Elvin by meeting in Brantford along with John Buchan. Those were some of the best afternoons of my life and I will miss them just as I will dearly miss my incredible friend, Barrie. God bless you all and thank your lucky stars you had him and he had you to love.
Good friends are hard to find and Barrie was a great friend.Golfing with him in Santee was a pleasure and a lot of fun as he and Bruce performed their Rev and Deacon routines that we could never get enough of. Being with him at Mill Run you saw the relationship and bond between him and his dogs as they kept the geese under control.A truly unique experience! I definitely will miss our Brantford lunches where no topic was off limits, reminiscing was mandatory and laughter and exaggeration were in abundance. On many occasions Barrie expressed how lucky he was to have the support and love of Chris and his family. Barrie will be missed but not forgotten.
To Barrie’s family, condolences on the loss of husband, father, grandfather.
60 plus years ago, I met Barrie at McMaster where I was a first year nursing student and Barrie was studying history. We dated for almost 2 years….I remember his passion for handball and his struggles to finance his education and I suspect he went hungry many times. I was so happy to learn that he succeeded in life, and in handball!
I have lived in London for many years and was stunned to realize that we were almost neighbours…if only I had known!
Rest in peace, Barrie.