Leonard Joseph Driscoll passed away peacefully on Thursday, November 3, 2011 at Concordia Hospital in Winnipeg. Len was born in Montreal, Quebec on March 5, 1928 to Charles Joseph and Celia (nee Ross) Driscoll. He was the second youngest of five children. On June 28, 1952, he married the love of his life, Dorothy Ferguson in Montreal. Together they moved to Ontario and started a family. Dad often talked about childhood summers spent with his brothers and sisters at the West House in Glen Roy, Ontario. Dad would tell his stories about loading hay into the horse drawn wagon and as he was leading the horse back to his Uncle Angus' farm, he turned the horse too tight around a corner and ended up dumping the wagon load of hay. God was very important to dad throughout his life. Dad used to tell us the story about being at the West House and hearing the church bells calling for the Sunday Service. There was one road into town and whoever needed a ride would stand on the roadside and a neighbour would stop and give him a ride to church. A couple of times there wouldn't be anybody driving on the road, so he would start the walk to town. In those days not everybody had a car. Dad graduated from a Catholic high school in Montreal and furthered his education through technical college. Dad's career path took him into electronics and he started working with Toledo Scale Company in the mid 1950s as an electronic scale technician. He worked with Toledo Scale until his retirement in 1985. Dad was very proud of his career and would often tell us about his work adventures. Dad was a gadget lover and would switch hobbies periodically. While in Ontario, Dad had a beautiful model railroad set in the basement, complete with a landscape that included mountains and bridges. After the move to Winnipeg, dad became interested in CB radios. Dad would talk with an assortment of CB users and even had a CB put into his car. Then came the computer era. Dad had one of the first home computers available. It came complete with a tape player that was needed to transfer the program into the computer. Dad would upgrade his computers and accessories often and he was so eager to teach us and the grandkids how to use them properly. Dad treasured the time that he spent with his grandson Eric, rejuvenating older computers for use in schools. Dad's interest in computers kept him busy right up until July of this year. Dad was devoted to mom and was so heartbroken when she passed unexpectedly in August of 2008 after being married for 56 years. Dad stayed active the last couple of years by joining the Legion. Dad had been in the cadet service during the Second World War but he was only 17 years old when the war was over. Dad made many new Legion friends and loved playing darts and attending the meat draws. Dad had two adventures after mom passed. First he was able to travel to Ottawa to visit with his sister, nieces and extended family. The second adventure was his move into Devonshire House assisted living apartments. Dad was well known for his sense of humour and always had a joke ready. He loved to have his three daughters laugh and was happiest goofing with the grandkids. Dad looked forward to his grandson Leonard's phone call each day. Leonard Driscoll was predeceased by his wife of 56 years, Dorothy, all four of his siblings: Iva Quelch, Greg Driscoll, Ross Driscoll and Elizabeth (Betty) McLellan, two nephews Mark McLellan and Robert McLellan. Len leaves to mourn and cherish fond memories his daughters: Gail Driscoll of Toronto, Ontario, Deanna and husband JP Stocker of St. Laurent, Manitoba, Lori and husband Brad Michaleski of Dauphin, Manitoba; five grandchildren: Jennifer (Lesage) and husband Richard Steinbeisser of St. Laurent, Manitoba, Eric Lesage and wife Marina of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Steven Michaleski (and Kristi Hunter) of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Joanna Michaleski (and fiance Trevor Wasylyshen) of Dauphin, Manitoba and Leonard Stocker of St. Laurent, Manitoba. There are numerous nieces, nephews, extended family and good friends. A private family funeral took place on Saturday, November 5, 2011 at the Wheeler Funeral Chapel in Transcona. Interment is at the Transcona Cemetery.

-- published in The Winnipeg Free Press (Winnipeg, MB) on 12 Nov 2011