Leon Levasseur, a former Oblate priest, who was appointed Thompson’s first resident pastor for St. Lawrence Catholic Church in November 1960, died in North Bay, Ontario at Cassellholme East Nipissing District Home for the Aged Sept. 26 at the age of 90, after a long struggle with Parkinson’s disease. He lived in Thompson from 1960 to 1969.
Levasseur was born in scenic Matane, Québec on the Gaspé Peninsula, located on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River, 400 kilometres northeast of Québec City, but he was raised in Manitoba by his foster mother Delia Pearson following the death of his birth mother at a young age.
After graduating from the University of Ottawa, Levasseur was ordained in 1953 and spent 16 years pastoring in Northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan. He arrived in the brand-new mining town of Thompson, Manitoba on Nov. 26, 1960, three days after his pastoral appointment here. In 1969, he was voluntarily laicized as he withdrew from the clerical state and married his wife Eileen, a laywoman from Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Cathedral choir in The Pas, who survives him. The couple left Thompson and moved of Winnipeg in 1969. Laicization is a process which takes from a priest or other cleric the licit use of his powers, rights, and authority, rendering him for ecclesiastical purposes the equivalent of a layman, although he still remains a priest.
Levasseur, who remained a Catholic, spent the remainder of his life and career living in Winnipeg and North Bay, where he was a passionate advocate for social housing. A memorial service was celebrated for him at St. Peter the Apostle Church in North Bay Oct. 3.
He is also survived by two children, Treasa and Kelly. Treasa is a noted rhythm and blues/folk artist who kicked off the second Home Routes concert series season here on Oct. 3, 2010.Treasa was born in Winnipeg, raised in North Bay and now lives in Toronto.
Father Levasseur, as he then was, had many irons in the fire when it came to civic involvement in Thompson’s early days. As chair of the Thompson Religious Council’ s organizing committee, he was in charge of an Oct. 15, 1967 survey the council took upon itself most years during the 1960s to conduct its own door-to-door survey of religious denominational affiliation in Thompson.
A year earlier in 1966, Levasseur had chaired the “Thompson Interested Voters Committee,” which drummed up enthusiasm for the first municipal election here, capped off by an all-candidates forum at the old Brad Theatre on Selkirk Avenue, as the townsite transitioned from being governed by the Local Government District (LGD) of Mystery Lake, to status as a town with an elected council.
You can also follow me on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/jwbarker22
soundingsjohnbarker 