Leo passed away on June 20, 2022 in Victoria, BC at age 91. He was born in Vancouver, BC on February 12, 1931. Leo was predeceased by former spouse Joyce Frances le Nobel (nee Barker) in 2017, sister Elizabeth West (Joseph) in 2011 and grandson Benjamin le Nobel-Quee in 2021. He is survived by his children Brian le Nobel, Rachel le Nobel, Claire Negrich, son-in-law Robert Negrich; grandchildren Derris le Nobel-Quee, Ashley Negrich, Scott Negrich; brother-in-law Joseph West, sister Marcia Mester (Dick); best friend Trudy Payne; nephews Martin, Jeffrey, Richard, Jason, niece Megan and their partners and families; and many friends.
The first child of Adrian and Phyllis le Nobel, Leo was raised in Burnaby, BC. He married Joy in 1958 and they raised their 3 children in Burnaby before separating in 1974. In 1979, Leo moved to Calgary, Alberta where he resided for 40 years.
Leo worked in the insurance field for over 65 years. His roles included underwriter, broker, manager and director with Leslie, Wright and Rolfe Insurance, Executive Vice-President of Jardine Rolfe Ltd., owner/partner of Bell Davidson Insurance Brokers, and account executive with Jardine Lloyd Thompson Canada before he retired at the youthful age of 84. His greatest passion was opera, particularly Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen and the works of Verdi and Puccini; he loved travelling, reading, art, theatre, history, architecture, boxing, gardening, dessert, whiskey sours, luxury cars and elegant neckties. He was a terrific public speaker and debater. In his spare time, he learned to play the piano, was a member of the Grand Opera Club of Calgary and served as Calgary Opera committee and board member for many years. He travelled all over the world and nothing gave him greater pleasure than treating his children and friends to opera performances, and various trips and excursions. He had a keen sense of adventure and loved defying notions of conventionality with antics such as sky diving in Australia at age 73 (against medical advice).
Following a diagnosis of dementia, Leo moved to Victoria, BC in 2019 to be close to his children and grandchildren. He spent the last several years of his life courageously navigating a perfect storm of Alzheimer’s disease and global pandemic. Leo loved all his family dearly and was especially grateful to his eldest son Brian le Nobel whose tireless devotion made it possible for Leo to live independently well into his senior years.
A celebration of Leo’s life will be held at a later date.
The family wishes to thank Dr. Neweduk and the staff of Glengarry Hospital, Richmond Unit for their care and support. In lieu of flowers, donations in Leo’s name may be made to:
Alzheimer Society of Canada
20 Eglinton Avenue West, 16th floor
Toronto, ON M4R 1K8
Calgary Opera
1315 – 7 Street SW
Calgary, AB T2R 1A5
https://calgaryopera.com/donate
Condolences may be offered to the family below.
McCall Gardens
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Angela Gorman
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Dave & Bev Foy Leo and his friend, Trudy Payne, and three other couples , calling ourselves “the opera gang”, loved to get together to share stories of opera experiences and just generally enjoy the company of kindred spirits. We were always interested to hear about Leo’s latest trip to see a Wagner Ring Cycle, and he was responsible for encouraging the rest of us to attend at least one of those 4-opera marathons. We’ve missed his company since he moved from Calgary to Victoria. We are so grateful that we had a last visit with him about three years ago in Victoria.
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Heather Loughery Hello, just wanted to add my condolences to Leo’s family and friends. I worked with Leo years ago at LWR and JLT and kept in touch via cards and notes before later losing touch with him. He was responsible for encouraging me to see Wagner’s Ring Cycle in Seattle back in the early 1990s – a major highlight of my music life – loved it and was so grateful to Leo for suggesting I see it. He was interesting, with such a huge scope of pastimes and activities. His love of family, music and travel were high on his list of discussion topics. Always something new with him, while maintaining his dedication to work and accomplishments. I have missed him over the years and offer my sympathy for the loss of such a great man.
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Lawrence Bicknell I am so so sad to hear of Leo’s passing. I had the privilege to work with Leo for over 25 year. He was a true professional who always had a story to tell. More importantly he was a true gentleman, they don’t make them like that anymore.
Rest In Peace Leo
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Amanda Caverly Rachel, Derris and family I am so sorry for your loss. It’s over 50 years ago that I first met Leo and then later had the privilege of working with him at LWR/JLT. By the time I started at LWR he had already moved to Alberta to run the Calgary office but we still talked frequently over the years. I always enjoyed hearing about his many adventures like sky-diving to celebrate I think it was his 80th birthday and also hearing how proud he was of his kids and grandkids. What a nice surprise it was that we ended up as neighbours. I love that picture of him in his tie but do credit Leo with initiating Business Casual Dress code! He showed up in the Vancouver office one day in the 1980’s wearing a turtleneck and cowboy boots and (much to my Dad’s disapproval) said that was his new normal business attire! It took another 20 years (and my Dad retiring) before we had casual Fridays in BC.
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Lorraine Hi Rachel Brian Claire and family.
Thats a beautiful eulogy. I learned alot about what an interesting person Leo was. And how loved he was. Im sorry for your loss.
I worked side-by-side with Leo for 4 years at JLT 2006-2010. He wanted to break a record for longest working Insurance Professional. I really hope he managed to achieve this goal. He crunched on hard candies all day long and I don’t think he ate much else during the day 🙂 He once gave me tickets to the Opera for my boys and I to experience which I have never forgotten.
I lost touch with Leo when I left JLT but often wondered what became of him. I was sad to see this obituary when I searched him on Google as I had hoped he was still in his desk working on his many commercial files but I was so happy to learn of his long, full and rich life.
My condolences to his family.