IVAN GORDON LEMESURIER

Condolences & Memories (4 entries)

• I am so sorry to hear that Ivan (Lee) has passed. I was fortunate and honoured to have worked with Lee at COOL FM and at CJNU. I was floored when he asked me to fill in for him on his evening show at COOL when he was on holidays, bantering with his cronies who called in every night. On one evening Lee showed up with the most amazing lamb stew, which we shared and talked throughout the evening show. I asked him what he was going to do once he retired. He said "I've got a great easy chair and three or four thousand recordings to listen to, so I won't be bored!" His wit and sense of humour helped me to really enjoy my time in radio, and learn at the feet of the master. At Izzy Aspers funeral we sat together in the second last row with the entire Bombers team and the late jazz great George Reznik. We often exchanged laughs online and in person while he was still in Winnipeg. Now I'm retired, and can only hope to enjoy my retirement like he enjoyed his. I will never forget you Lee. You have inspired many, including myself. Rest easy my friend, and I hope the recliners are as comfortable and the recordings as sweet as you embark on the next leg of your journey. You are legend! Rest in Peace. - Posted by: Gary Grosvenor (Co-worker and friend ) on: Jul 15, 2023

• Lee/Ivan was such a nice guy.I worked with him on and off for years and years. When I produced the local news broadcast, he came up with the idea of going to Winnipeg restaurants, and getting the chef to show the viewers how he/she cooked or baked the most popular dishes. We then mailed the recipes (obviously, this was before the Internet) to all the viewers who phoned the CBC for the recipe. To our surprise, we got hundreds and hundreds of calls after each episode….to Lee’s credit, this was a huge success. And a side effect was that I learned how to cook! As an aside, anyone who never tasted Lee’s chili really missed out on something special. Such a good guy….my deepest sympathy to his family. Frankie Glickman Victoria BC - Posted by: Ms Frankie Glickman (CBC colleague) on: Jul 15, 2023

• Through our work at the CBC, we met and became long-time friends with Ivan and it was easy to do because he was such a personable guy. Later, “Ivey” was Best Man at our wedding. We have too many great memories to list here but one stands out. The CBC had moved us to Vancouver and when we returned to Winnipeg for a vacation, Ivan held a ‘Welcome Home’ party at his property in Sanford. He invited at least two dozen of our CBC friends. The centrepiece was a bouillabaisse that took Ivan two days to prepare. An amazing chef, he had even gone to the trouble to make sure all the fish were from the Mediterranean. You can’t have a better friend than that. We miss him. Sincerest condolences to Cathy, Ivan’s sons and everyone in his extended family. - Posted by: Rick and Bev Inglis (Close friends and CBC colleagues) on: Jul 15, 2023

• I’m so sorry to hear of Ivan’s (Lee’s) passing. Another one of the great ones is gone. We had so much fun working together in such a short period of time. Lee had such a wealth of knowledge about life & music. He taught me so much more about jazz & blues than I ever thought possible. We spent hours editing his old radio interviews and running these clips during his evening jazz show. With Lee, there was always more laughter than actual work going on in the production studio. We got together several times after the “COOL” days to tip 1 or 2 back in Calgary. I cherish the memories. Rest In Peace my friend. - Posted by: Gerhard Peters (Friend and former colleague ) on: Jul 15, 2023