Obituary of Leontine Luksts

Luksts Our mom has left us, after a valiant battle with cancer. As a young mother with toddler in hand, she walked the breadth of her beloved Latvia, with her husband fleeing the Soviet army who had taken her father in the night a few years earlier, to see bombs rain down on Liepaja as her ship sailed out of port. She spent four years in allied DP camps and often spoke of her life's most precious Christmas gift: a half loaf of rye bread. With a few words of schoolgirl English, she sailed alone across the Atlantic in a troop ship, now with 2 chlidren in hand, and took a train from Halifax to the northern Ontario wilderness, to join her husband who had gone ahead to earn their passage. At age 41 she went back to school to earn her teaching certificate and taught for 21 more year, completeing her degree at night school. Her indomitable spirit has left a mark on the Latvian community, her choirs, her dance groups, her colleagues, her many care givers and her family. She is predeceased by her husband Konstantins (1995) and her grandson Christopher (1984). She leaves behind four loving children, Margarita, Ieva, Paul and Martin, 14 grandchildren, 2 great grandchildren and many, many friends and relatives in Canada and Latvia. Special thanks to her sister Gabriela who has been at her side this past year, to the compassionate staff at the Cancer Clinic, to the amazing Dr. Margrieta Edels, to her care givers Kerry and Jocelyn, Deb and Helen and the many others she inspired on her final journey, and who generously provided us with flowers, food, friendship and their precious time. Bye Mom, we love you. Visitors will be received at John T. Donohue Funeral Home, 362 Waterloo Street at King Street, on Friday December 27th from 2-4 and 7-9 o'clock. Funeral Mass at Blessed Sacrament Church, 1057 Oxford Street East, on Saturday morning, December 28th at 10 o'clock. Interment in St. Peter's Cemetery. Prayers Friday evening at 7 o'clock. In lieu of flowers please donate to London Cancer Clinic or Struzanu Skolu.