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LEONARD ERIC CARLSON
Born: Oct 17, 1940
Date of Passing: Aug 25, 2026
Send Flowers to the Family Offer Condolences or MemoryLEONARD ERIC CARLSON
On Tuesday August 25, 2026 in the early morning, Leonard Carlson died unexpectedly after living for over 10 years with dementia. He had been living at Misericordia Place in Winnipeg for the past eight years. He is predeceased by his first son David Eric Carlson.
Len was born in Toronto, Ontario, on October 17, 1940. His father (Erik) Rafael Carlson (Sunabacka) emigrated from the small community of Terjärv, Ostrobothnia Finland in 1926. His mother, Lily Elizabeth Hammerback, born in Winnipeg, was a first-generation Swedish-Canadian. Rafael met Lily in Toronto through the Swedish community when Lily moved to Toronto for work. Leonard was the eldest of two boys and picked up carpentry skills from his father who was an accomplished home builder and finishing carpenter.
Music was ever-present in Len’s life. He began playing violin at age six and later switched primarily to viola, which he played until recently. In his younger years he played in the Carlson-Hansson ensemble which was made up of Len, his brother Bruce, his dad, and cousins from Finland who were living in Toronto with his family. He also played in the Swedish Gospel Orchestra and played euphonium in his Mimico High School Band. He went on to play in youth orchestras and in other amateur ensembles when he started his career. Later in life Len continued playing viola in many community orchestras including the University of Manitoba Symphony Orchestra, the Mennonite Community Orchestra, and other community orchestras. He remained active in smaller ensembles, one with his brother Bruce, niece Shelley and daughter Karen, and a string quartet who met weekly during his retirement. During covid he joined an online viola masterclass facilitated by the staff at Misericordia Place and many others were heard exclaiming "is that Len Carlson?" as he was well known in Winnipeg’s music community.
His faith was important to him. As a child he attended Beulah Baptist church in Toronto where he often played his violin during worship. In high school he was part of ISCF and joined IVCF at Queen’s University. After moving to Winnipeg, and during his transition from Engineering to Social Work, he worked at Manitoba Pioneer Camp (MPC) as the summer staff Maintenance Director. He continued to volunteer his time and skills at MPC into the early 2000s. He passed along his love of MPC to his kids and grandkids. He was always an active member of the many faith and church communities he belonged to and held various pastoral, leadership, and musical support roles.
As a natural athlete he loved football, playing as a teen at Mimico high school then as a young adult until injury forced him to quit. He continued to enjoy football supporting his son’s various athletic pursuits and following the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He remained active in sport, golfing with his brother and other family members at least weekly until his health prevented him from continuing.
In his 20s, Len started his career as a Civil Engineer, which brought him to Winnipeg from Toronto. At 30 he felt called to work more closely with people, so returned to school gaining a master’s in social work from the University of Manitoba. It was there that he met Joyce, and they were married for 42 years and had four kids together.
He worked at the Child Guidance Clinic in Winnipeg for over 25 years. He was a compassionate person who deeply felt the need to help others - whether it be a person on the street, members of new immigrant communities, old friends, or an extended family member. Having many transferable skills, he was energised by supporting and teaching others, empowering them to design, build, play sport or perform music.
He was a patient and kind father who was proud of his children’s activities and achievements in music, art and sport. He could be seen beaming at musical performances, presentations, and sports games, and was an enthusiastic audience member and positive cheering squad.
He was ever playful and willing to try new things. When visiting his children as they lived across North America he would happily jump on a streetcar and enjoy a coffee in the Castro District of San Francisco, talk with a street musician playing plastic bucket drums, jam with fiddlers in a pub in Halifax, try a headstand alongside his kids when well into his 60s, and tobogganing with his grandchildren in Grande Prairie at age 76 - all with a twinkle in his eye for a laugh and a smile.
He will be lovingly remembered by: his three surviving children and their families, Karen and Preston, Andrea, Dillan, Joel and Austin, and Ian, Jessica and Tabitha, and by his brother and their family, Bruce and Carole Carlson, his nephews and nieces, Sean, Shelley, Anders, Linea and their families.
Many thanks to all the staff at Misericordia Place for their wonderful care of our dad Len over the last eight years.
Service and reception at St. Margaret’s Anglican Church, Winnipeg, 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, September 3, 2026 - interment at the Transcona cemetery to follow.
As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Aug 29, 2026