LEONARD (BOOMER) JOSEPH PATEMAN

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LEONARD (BOOMER) JOSEPH PATEMAN February 12, 1921 - August 7, 2014 Peacefully on Thursday, August 7, 2014 at the Poseidon Care Facility, Leonard Joseph Pateman passed away at the age of 93. Leonard was predeceased by his wife of 63 years, Betty, his youngest son Stuart, his parents and sisters. He is survived by his daughter Janet (John) Mattis, sons Walker (Barbara) and Howard (Violet), daughter-in-law Judy, and grandchildren Kelly (Glen), Richard, Jan Marie (Brent), David (Virginia), Doug (Angela), Trisha (Kevin), Aaron, Amanda (Christian), Ryan and Drew (Julie), as well as 16 great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews. Dad was born and raised in Winnipeg, mainly in the Morse Place - East Kildonan area. In the Second World War, he proudly served with the R.C.A.F. from 1941 to 1945 and during this time he married his high school sweetheart and the love of his life, Betty (Haines). Dad was affectionately known as "Boomer" to his many friends and co-workers at the C.P.R. freight sheds, and was a very active local representative of the C.P.R. union BRAC. He retired from his position at the age of 60 to go fishing, and that he did. His motto "Any day fishing was a good day" and he had thousands of good days! This love of fishing developed early and he fondly remembered, as a young boy, heading out to Lockport on the beach train with his grandad for a day of fishing. He held 16 Master Angler Awards and was ranked as one of the top 100 fishermen in Manitoba. Over the course of many years, Dad volunteered his time and talents with the Boy Scouts of Canada as Cubmaster of a troop at John Black Church and coaching his sons community club hockey teams. He also volunteered his time to help train new doctors. In the role of a patient, he used his love for spinning tall tales to provide "Doctors in training" experience questioning and diagnosing. Dad loved nature, animals, hunting and working with his hands. He was skilled at stain glass work and his family all have treasured pieces he created. He had a great passion for music and loved to sing. He was a member of the Barbershop Golden Chordsmen Quartet for a great number of years and traveled with the Barbershop group on a competitive basis. You could often find him singing and playing music to entertain family and friends. He loved to travel with Mom and was fortunate enough to travel extensively. When not traveling abroad they loved to camp throughout the province and country. In keeping with his wishes, Leonard's physical being has been donated to the Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba and cremation will take place. A celebration of his life will take place at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, November 10, 2014 at John Black Memorial Church, 898 Henderson Hwy. If friends so desire, donations in memory of Leonard may be made to the Winnipeg Humane Society or a charity of your choice. Special thanks to the staff at Kildonan House and the Poseidon Care Facility for the support and care that Dad received in the last several years of his life.

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As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Nov 08, 2014