November 29, 1961- December 25, 2022
With broken hearts, we announce the passing of Garry on Christmas Day with his wife and girls surrounding him with love.
Garry was born on November 29th, 1961, to Edmond and Lorraine Leclerc in Winnipeg. His childhood was filled with memories lived on baseball fields, hockey rinks, campgrounds, and the neighbourhood of St. Boniface.
After graduating from Louis Riel Collegiate, he moved on to several jobs and pastimes that allowed him to make lifelong friends and create legacy stories that continue to be told to this day. He spent time at Red River College graduating with his Carpentry Diploma before embarking on jobs in the residential and commercial settings before moving to positions in the Louis Riel School Division.
In 1986, Garry met and married the love of his life and later became a Girl Dad to Carlee and Dominique. His family was his priority and life was better because he was in their lives. As the girls got older, he embraced their passions and became involved in triathlons, volleyball and running. He was the dad who would sit on the phone long distance until the day’s dilemma was solved. His first response was always “what am I going to do about that from Manitoba?” He was their biggest champion as they pursued their educational dreams and found their way as adults. He even smiled and continued to support them when they married Saskatchewan boys. Not an easy feat for a die-hard Bomber fan! Time spent with Madison and Logan brought him great joy. Logan was his mate and their special bond was magical to watch. Madison was his princess and she lived up to the part. She had him wrapped around her finger before she took her first steps. Adventures big and small were always better with Grandpa by their side.
Garry loved his books, doing car, carpentry and woodworking projects, long runs on the coldest of days, watching the Jets play, golfing with his buddies and time in the gym coaching. His favorite nights were cozy ones at home with all his girls (including his pup, Luna) by his side.
After being diagnosed with Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), Garry received the very best of our health care system. We would like to thank Concordia Urgent Care and Grace Emergency Room staff for keeping Garry comfortable until the ICU team at HSC took over. The ICU team and consulting doctors worked so very hard to diagnose and care for him during this time. We are forever grateful for their dedication to the medical profession and perseverance on finding alternative treatment plans until there were no other options available. Also thank you to MICU4 nurses Amanda, Beth and Ruth who treated Garry with compassion and care and helped guide all of us through this journey that no one ever wants to walk.
Garry was predeceased by his dad, Edmond; sister, Gail Phillips; and mother-in-law, Marilyn LaPage. He is survived by his wife, Mary; daughters Carlee (Cody) and Dominique (Tanner): grandchildren, Logan and Madison; his mother, Lorraine; siblings Brian (Cindra), Ron (Maureen), Sandra; brother-in-law Jeff Phillips; Father-in-law, Dick LaPage; in-laws Cindy (John) Jones; Rick (Melanie) LaPage along with many nieces and nephews.
A celebration of life will be held at the Pinnacle Club located at IG Field, 315 Chancellor Matheson Road on Tuesday, January 3rd at 2:00 pm. In lieu of donations, please consider bringing a book suitable for children under 14 with you to the service. The books will be donated on his behalf to a school library so others can enjoy a good book as much as he did.
Friends and family are invited to share memories and condolences on Garry’s memorial page by using the comment field below.
Please note: There is a delay between when a comment is submitted and when it appears on the memorial page.
One of the good guys!
I’ll miss walking into the LaPage-LeClerc residence seeing Garry with his comfy slippers, a book in hand, his readers on his nose, and a big “HI Sue”!
Garry and Mary built such a beautiful life together, both drawing the very best out of each other. And those girls! Girls that they graciously shared with Auntie Sue, my heart bursts for them.
From time to time, Garry gave me advise on love and relationships. I always thought he must have been wrong because, well, I’m still single. What I’ve come to realize, he was right, I just wasn’t listening!!
Mary and Garry showed care & compassion ALWAYS, even when life threw them some curve balls.
I’m so sorry for the loss of a thoughtful husband, a wonderful father, but also my friend too.
Much Love Always!
To Mary and family
I was so sorry to read about Garry’s passing in todays paper. My heart is breaking for you and the girls and their families. Please know that my love, thoughts and prayers are with you all. I pray that God will bring you comfort and peace and that you will feel His presence as he walks with you.
In friendship and prayer,
Diane Coppen
I will miss Gary’s cheerful good mornings at Frontenac School. My deepest condolences to you and your family.
Garry was an incredible guy and I will certainly miss talking to and working with! He spoke about his family often. He talked about his grandchildren and seeing them grow up, his children and what was going on with them, his wife and looking forward to retirement with her. I believe Garry had a way of being friends with everyone and did so with a great sense of humour and friendly nature. Garry was an all round great guy that I feel richer for knowing. His life ended way too quickly but he left behind many friends and family. Garry will be greatly missed!
I had the privilege of working with Garry at Frontenac School over the past number of years. As Principal of the School there is a rule we live by – make friends with your Head Custodian and your Admin Secretary. Garry was easy to do just that. I knew I liked him the first time we spoke. He had a great sense of humour, talked sports, movies and above all he had an incredible sense of pride in his work. No matter what Shauna and I asked him to do – he would fix it, clean it, remove it, store it, and complete it. Usually, our requests were met with laughter, playful push-back and banter – but no matter what it was, we knew it would be done and done well. He literally transformed our school over-night into a clean and sparkling place that we could all be proud to work in. Mr. Garry, as he was known at Frontenac, had the natural ability to connect with staff and students on an authentic level and he never forgot about the stories of our students and did his best daily to be another trusted adult, there to show empathy, compassion and love.
I live in Niakwa Park, and when I would zip home occasionally at lunch hour, I would always see Garry taking his run through my neighbourhood. I would honk and we would share a smile and a wave. I know I will continue to look for him there and think of memories and laughs we shared together.
Garry touched the lives of so many and he made an indelible mark in Flame Nation. He will be deeply missed, and the void felt by his passing will be long felt at Frontenac and beyond. I feel very fortunate to have worked with him and to have had someone I respected as a colleague and considered a friend.
My deepest sympathies to the family. You have been and will remain in my thoughts and prayers.
With love, sadness and great respect.
Justin
Garry will really be missed at Frontenac School. He always had a friendly and kind greeting in the morning and I will miss his smiles and waves upon seeing him whether he was out shovelling or inside around the hallways. He always was willing to take care of things we asked him to do, whether they were big or small jobs and made such an impact on both the physical building and the staff.
Garry will be remembered as a kind gentle human being with whom so many of who were able to talk about so many things. I would be greeted each morning and around the school Garry would help us out so we could focus on our work as teachers. He will be missed and we just lost a kind, loving and caring soul. Sincerest condolences to the family.
I am so sorry to hear the news of Gary’s passing. I coached Dominique’s club volleyball with him for a few seasons and I have fond memories of that time. His passion for coaching the girls was so apparent. He was a great guy with a big heat
Today we gathered to say goodbye to one of the kindest soles I ever had the privilege to work with. Garry would always respond to my txt messages, “be right there” and finish it off with some emoji. Garry would be one of the first faces I would see as I walked into the school in the morning and if he was down the hallway would yell out “Morning Nancy”. We would always stop and chat and then continue to carry on with our day. He will truly be sadly missed is an understatement and returning on Thursday will be difficult but he will be remembered. I will miss his smile and his kindness. Deepest condolences to the family. Stay strong.
Dear Mary,
I am so very sorry to hear of Garry’s passing. When I left RETSD and started work at Victor Wyatt, it was so much fun to realize that we had you in common. I got to keep up on how you and the girls were doing through our daily chats. In 2020 I found myself with an office in Frontenac School, and was excited to reconnect with Garry. His cheerfulness and helpfulness as well as that great sense of humour will be deeply missed.
I am keeping you and your family close to my heart and in my thoughts and prayers.
Much love and sympathy, Shannon Timlick