Clara Isabella Leonard
Clara
Isabella Leonard (nee Akwa) was born in Vancouver August 21, 1930 to Edward and
Queenie. Mom’s Dad – Eddie – was born to
a German mother in Finland while her Mom was born in England. Mom was raised in the Mount Pleasant
neighbourhood of Vancouver; in fact she attended Mount Pleasant school across
the street from her home which was attached to her Dad’s tire and auto wrecking
business.
Mom
was a pretty good softball pitcher and seemed to have a pretty happy childhood
albeit within a family that had to be fairly frugal. She and her sister Edna helped her Dad with
his business – Mom liked to talk about that ‘Mr. Pattison’ that would come
around looking for used tires for cars he was selling and to be amazed to see
that he is now BC’s very own Jimmy Pattison.
Her grandmother – Nanna – lived upstairs in their home and seemed to
entertain a lot of different gentlemen, let’s say.
The
spelling of her last name changed during the WWII as her dad told them all to
say they were Russian. This paid off
when her Japanese friends were taken from school and her classmates pointed at
her and said she was German. After the
war and during the Cold War, her last name changed back and rather than being
Russian she was once again German.
She
went to work at the credit department of Spencer’s Department Stores (the
precursor of Eaton’s) and was doing so when she met our Dad – Francis Vernon
‘Vern’ Leonard. Mom loved to dance and
Dad was working at a Moose Club in Vancouver so they found each other there and
married in 1951. Dad then worked as a
sales representative for the Nutty Club but as kids came along (Frank in 1954
and Teresa in 1958), Eddie told Vern that he needed a better job and taught him
the tire business. Dad ultimately worked for Goodyear and then acquired our own
family business (Victoria Tire Ltd.) while Mom was a fulltime homemaker.
When
Frank was born the family home was on Ontario Street in Vancouver, just
overlooking Vancouver City Hall. After
Teresa came along, we moved to Richmond into a duplex on No. 2 Road. In order for Frank to have a bit of a place
to play outside, Mom would use scissors to cut a patch in the back lawn. As renters, we moved often in Richmond and
then moved to Vernon and the Coldstream when Dad was transferred by Goodyear in
1964.
Strangers
in a new and relatively small town, we bonded and did a lot of activities
together. With one TV channel, we also
had our own entertainment at night and Mom would play the accordion as well as
show off her Russian Squat dance skills. Mom and Dad got quite involved with
the Gyro Club in Vernon, got dressed up for Klondike Days and took part in the
Vernon Winter Festival. Mom and Dad
ultimately bought a home in the Coldstream and entertained locals and family
many times – particularly family coming up during the summers.
Dad
got transferred to Victoria in 1969 and ultimately bought the business here
while Mom was happy to be in a larger community, which she preferred over the
small town she left behind. As Frank and
Teresa left home, married and started their own families, Mom helped out at the
tire shop – in fact, her trips to do the daily bank deposits were epic as she
shopped at all her favourite shops along the way.
Mom
was so ecstatic about becoming a grandmother that when the first one came along
she got off the phone from Frank and ran across the tire shop and jumped into
Dad’s arms – he always blamed his back problems on that. Ultimately Mom enjoyed
6 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren.
Mom
and Dad enjoyed all the family get-togethers at Shawnigan Lake – first with a
trailer at Shawnigan Lake Estates and then with their own summer home in the
west arm of the lake. As Dad retired in
1996 their plans included a fifth wheel trailer and southern excursions but Mom
had a stroke and these dreams never occurred.
Fortunately they had enjoyed many vacations to Hawaii, especially Maui,
during Dad’s working days as well as tire conventions across Canada.
Mom and Dad enjoyed 70 years of marriage before he passed in 2021 – the latter years neither were too mobile but enjoyed family visits immensely. As Mom moved into a care home she celebrated her 92nd birthday on the patio and was overjoyed with hugs from kids, grandkids and great grandkids. As family was her life’s work, it turned out to be a rewarding send-off.