Obituary

Leslie Abbott

In Loving Memory of

Leslie Abbott

of Edmonton

 

It is with heavy hearts that the Abbott family announces the passing of Les Abbott on October 9, 2022 at the age of 78 years. Les will always be loved and missed by his wife, Ellen; sons: Nicholas (Brittany) and Brendan; and grandsons: Clayton and Ivan.

Les was born to Clayton and Margaret Abbott in June of 1944 in Chatham, Ontario. He has four sisters: Elaine Homick, Colleen Tooke, Bev Amy and Brenda Emerson all living in the Paris, Ontario area. As a child, he moved to Tilbury, Tara and Paris in Ontario. He attended the Electrical Cooperative Program at the University of Waterloo, where he ended up working in New Liskeard, Ontario, as part of the program and later as a professional engineer. It is here that he met and married Ellen in 1974. They moved to St. John's, Newfoundland and Brampton, Ontario, before moving to Edmonton in 1976 for a job with AGT. He received many awards there and also a bonus for saving the company money. He enjoyed his technical work with Telus until he retired in 2003.

Les loved amateur radio. He became a Ham in 1969 with the call sign VE3GMU. He then became VE6OG in 1976. Over the years, he held many executive positions with different amateur radio clubs, but loved his technical positions best. It is often said, if Les can't fix a radio problem, it could not be fixed.

Les was a dedicated Community League volunteer, taking on positions of Building and Grounds and the Hall Extension Executive. He received the Federation of Community Leagues Merit Award in 2003. He was always behind the scenes fixing and helping on many projects in North Glenora and Canora Community Leagues.

He spent many hours fixing all kinds of electrical appliances, computers, cameras, and anything else needing fixing for neighbours and friends.

Les was always the strong, quiet rock for his family. He was willing to do anything and everything to help his family. He was known for knowing mostly everything he was asked, and was often asked to give the final decision on the correct answer. He was a great listener and a genuinely nice man.

He loved to garden, always had a vegetable garden, and even won a friendly contest with his fellow employees at AGT.

Les also loved to travel. He had been across Canada many times from coast to coast, including Newfoundland, Vancouver Island. He had been to the Northwest Territories and the Yukon many times. He loved Hawaii, Arizona and Alaska. He travelled to Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, Dominican Republic and many parts of the United States.

Cremation has taken place. There will be no Celebration of Life, as Les celebrated each day with joy since his surprise drive-by birthday party in 2020. He enjoyed the love and respect he was shown from friends and family during the last of his journey.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Les' favourite amateur radio club, Quarter Century Radio Club (QCARC) by etransfer to mail@qcarc.net or by mailing a cheque to QCARC, Box 473, Edmonton, AB, T5J 2K1