CINDY LESLIE

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CINDY LESLIE It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Cindy (Cynthia) Marie Leslie (Legge), beloved mother, wife, daughter, friend, and colleague. She is survived by her husband and best friend Shawn; her beloved children, Jordan, Jack and Charlie, and the source of much recent joy, her big smelly brown dog Stanley. Stanley has worked very hard to supplant Jake as the best dog ever, and we know that he will now begin to train us to Cindy's exacting standards. Cindy also leaves behind her father Mike; stepmother Lynn; brother Mark; and her close friends and sources of comfort, Sinead and Allister (her co-conspirator in throwing astonishing parties), just a few of the many people whose lives she touched. Born in London Ontario on October 18, 1965, to Mike Legge and Marylou Legge (Blades), she was a small town girl with big dreams, she always told Shawn that she didn't want to live and die in Southern Ontario. She didn't. Cindy touched hearts and souls everywhere she went, and she went everywhere. She travelled the world, always with an eye for the underdog or the woman who needed a hug or the lonely boy in the corner never with pity, only expectation. Despite her smarts and her gifts, whether in London or Toronto or the Caribbean, she never fully appreciated that the world was hers for the taking. Her magical combination of drive, hard work, acerbic wit and fabulously high standards all but ensured she would dominate us mere mortals. She had a tough outer shell that protected the most generous and compassionate of souls, always willing to help those she loved and those who needed love. Together with Shawn she built a formidable company in The Leslie Group Limited, bravely taking on the challenge of a new baby, a new husband, and a new company, all in a span of a few months. She was wickedly smart and always a cheerleader for the underdog, but suffered no fools, always expecting those around her to rise to the challenge. She raised her daughter Jordan to be a mightily independent, selfpossessed, beautifully confident woman, and saw her ready to head off to her graduate studies at Oxford this fall. She raised Jack, her second child, to withstand the gale force winds that were her and his sister, to become the quiet compassionate soul she craved in people. Her youngest, Charlie, was probably in the end her best friend, and the bravest among us, letting her be free and loved all the while making it seem as though he was the beneficiary, not her. That Cindy is no longer in pain is of great comfort to those who knew and loved her, but it is not enough. She always said that "only the good die young" and it with sadness that we say she would ultimately prove herself right. She should be here with us: We should fight with her; We should cry with her; We should laugh with her; We should love with her. Let us forever honour her spirit and spunk. Let us not forget how much we loved her. Let us not forget how much she loved us. We owe her the world. She was surrounded in the end by her family and those who loved her the most. But it is not enough. We will carry it forward and honour Cindy by fighting always: for our family, for our loved ones, for the underdog, for those who need it, for those who never expected it. We will, all of us, if we fight and strive, be deserving of her love. We wish to thank many of the staff at Sunnybrook, especially Dr. Kumar, whose compassion was of great comfort to Cindy and her family in the final hours. Friends may call at the Turner & Porter Yorke Chapel, 2357 Bloor St. W. at Windermere, near the Jane subway, on Sunday, September 25, 2016 between 5:00 and 8:00 p.m. Funeral service will be held in the Chapel on Monday September 26, 2016 at 3:00 p.m. A proper Irish celebration of life will follow on Monday evening, details for friends and family to be announced. Cindy's high standards to be observed. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Cindy's name to Covenant House or the Humane Society. Online condolences may be made through www.turnerporter.ca

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As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Sep 24, 2016