LEONARD HEINRICH LATOZKE

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LEONARD HEINRICH LATOZKE On November 16, 2002 at the Health Sciences Centre, Leonard Latozke passed peacefully in his sleep after a brief illness. Leonard was born July 16, 1919 and was raised in Gretna, MB, the son of Lina and Henry Latozke, who was the village blacksmith. Leonard was proud of his German heritage; his parents and grandparents being "Germans from Russia" who immigrated in the early 1900s. A strong Lutheran belief was passed onto him by his parents. In his formative years, Len attended school and participated in sports, most notably hockey with the Gretna Canucks. He was a self- taught musician who could play any number of instruments. He played trumpet with the Neche N.D. marching band and later was in demand as a fiddle player for country dances. Len was initially denied enlistment during the war because of a childhood bout with scarlet fever which left him deaf in one ear. As the war progressed he was called up, being poised to see active duty in the tank corps at wars end. Len worked for 38 years with the CPR, starting out as a section man. He worked his way up to fireman and on his retirement in 1978, was a locomotive engineer. He loved to tell stories about the glory days of steam engines and just how many tons of coal he shoveled into fireboxes. One of his proudest achievements was obtaining his ham operators license and being assigned the call-sign of VE4LC. He was constantly tinkering and fixing his home-made radio equipment. Len was one of those individuals who could fix anything and everything, never shying away from the challenge of taking something apart to see how it worked! There was nothing more gratifying than sitting around the campfire with his family at Rushing River, playing the ukulele, singing old time songs and drinking a cup of his perked coffee! We have many cherished memories of those days and nights! Len met and fell in love with Edna Henderson, his sweetheart of the last 57 years at a Halloween dance in 1945. They married in August 1946. He is survived by his wife Edna, sons, Lynn (Cheryl) and Brian (Linda) daughter Brenda; grandchildren, Kevin, Lindsey, and Ian. Also mourning his loss are his sister Irma Hill of Parksville, BC, sister-in-law Pat Smith (Oakley) of Killam, AB, and brother-in-law Charles Watkins of Victoria. Funeral service will be held at Bardal Funeral Home, 843 Sherbrook St. on Wednesday, November 20 at 1:00 p.m., with interment to follow in Brookside Cemetery. Viewing will take place 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Tuesday, November 19 at Bardal Funeral Home. Grateful acknowledgement to the paramedics, Fire Service, Doctors and nursing staff at HSC- ICU who were there in the hour of need. In lieu of flowers please make donations to either Heart and Stroke Foundation or Parkinsons Society. Thanks for a lifetime of memories Dad. We will miss you dearly. BARDAL FUNERAL HOME 843 Sherbrook Street, 774-7474

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Nov 18, 2002