LEIGH
David Lewis
August 6, 1940 - April 2, 2018
A proud resident of Drumheller since 1961, David Leigh passed away on Monday, April 2 in the Red Deer hospital. He had been a patient in the Drumheller hospital for eleven weeks prior, with one week added in Red Deer. He is survived by his sister Mary Leigh Warden (Barry); niece Christy Dinning (Darwin Forcier); nephews Rob Dinning (Rebecca; Lily) and John Dinning (Allison; Aden and Reid). David loved Drumheller - the long-time acquaintances, favourite shopping spots, drives around town and nearby valley routes. His friendly smile and always happy nature shone through whenever he stopped to have a chat with familiar Drumheller folks, all of whom knew David well and had known parents Bert and Irene Leigh since Bert’s transfer as Manager to the Bank of Montreal in 1961 and Irene’s teaching relocation to the Drum public school system. Those who were fortunate to have known David surely have taken from him some valuable life lessons. His daily attempts to be positive and kind were commendable beyond words. David was a special soul. Most people likely weren’t aware of David’s keen interest in sports: hockey (Montreal Canadiens); baseball (New York Yankees), and curling. He followed the Winter Olympics, kept a close watch on the results and was proud of Canada’s medals. Barry often called David to talk about hockey or baseball. David knew all the stats, present and past, could give near-accurate assessments of which team would end up winning and provide clear reasons why. David’s other passions were movies and music. Two weeks before his passing, with nudging from Mary, David discovered that he could sing. If there had been a casual, welcoming sing-along group for seniors in Drumheller, he might have been an eager participant. David would want to say thank you and goodbye to a few wonderful people: RobinLee, a special helper and friend, plus Kristy, Heather, Penny, Tina and Janice (all Helping Hands, Drumheller); Priscilla, as well as Jenna and Jen, and Dr. Rehan Masood, who realized there was a serious urgency (Drum hospital); Brian (Peterson’s Auto Body); Donna and Clark (H & H Optical); Amy (Centre St. Insurance); Alison, Don and staff (Rutz Agency); Paulette Harder, Joanne Dedul, Carmen Bliss and staff (BMO); Mandy (David’s premier nurse, Red Deer hospital); Dr. Chelsey Henry (Resident Dr., Red Deer, who offered her cell phone to David on his first evening in Red Deer so he could talk to his sister); Diane, Beverly, Donnell and Jessica (Helping Hands, Red Deer); Stan Schumacher; Linda Culshaw (Schumacher Gough); Debbie Laycock; Marcel Augey; Grace House; Judy and Ed Palm; Miro and Karen Guidolin; Don and Adrienne Dart; Shelley Hird; Debbie Nakonechny; Scott Manning; Janet Notland; Tess Broadhurst; the Yavis staff; the amazing Shaw cable technicians who pulled off miracles (with Jon Galliazzo, Jay Meyer); all the kind friends at Mapleridge Manor I, and Bob Dinning. A special goodbye to cousins Jean Fraser, Peggy Shuman and Gordon Rhine, and a loving goodbye to Mary, Barry, Christy, Rob and John. Many thanks to Sean Grande, Courtney Winters, for his sincere and friendly support. If anyone has been missed from this list, apologies. When David’s sister talked with him on the phone four days before his unexpected passing, she told him that he was a real trooper. David replied, ‘Am I? Well, ok...I guess I am!’ Indeed, he was. Many folks have shed tears over his passing. He will be remembered and missed. In memory of David, donations to the Drumheller Area Health Region would be greatly appreciated (351-9th Street N.W., Drumheller, Alberta, T0J 0Y1). Courtney-Winter’s Funeral Homes were in care of the arrangements.
