Tribute

It is with the saddest of hearts that our family announces the passing of Jo Ann Leitch, aged 85, on April 6, 2025.  However, our family takes solace knowing that Jo Ann died peacefully in her sleep at her home in Duncan, profoundly aware that she had led her life to fullest, and was immensely loved by her family and friends.

Jo Ann was born to Mae and Wallace Strong on June 8th, 1939 in the small town of Brock, Saskatchewan. She moved to Nanaimo as a child and developed many deep friendships that persisted throughout her life.  One night, at a basketball game in Duncan, Jo Ann Strong met the love of her life, a skinny fellow from Lake Cowichan called Alan Leitch.

The couple married on August 27th, 1960, and moved to Duncan to start a new life together. In Duncan, Al and Jo Ann developed a wonderful network of friends going to parties, dancing, playing crib and curling.  They were forced to slow down (just a bit) when their first born Andrea arrived in 1972.  A couple of years later, they welcomed their second child, a son named Andrew.

During the following years, Jo Ann worked at the school board and as a secretary at Mount Prevost. She enjoyed many happy days camping, watching her kid’s sports, and hiking with her family.

After the passing of her husband Alan in 2002, Jo Ann found herself in an empty house. However, she did not let the grief stop her from living. She decided to explore the world and live life fully and for the moment. Her adventures took her to places like Iceland, China, Egypt, Russia, India, Tanzania and Peru, just to name a few. She wasn’t simply ticking items off the bucket list, she was living with intention, enjoying new experiences and moments of joy.

During her life, Jo Ann wore many different hats: a friend, a naturalist, a devoted wife, an adventurer, a curler, and a loving mother and grandmother. She had an insatiable curiosity, and a great love of nature and the arts, but most of all she was fun. She was inexhaustible with her local volunteer work, but she always made sure G&Ts were on at 4 PM.

She will leave an unfillable hole in the lives of her daughter Andrea Waldron, with her husband Jason and their two children Camryn and Thomas, her son Andrew Leitch, with his wife Tomomi and their two children Aila and Noah. She will also be deeply missed by all the friends and family whose lives she touched.

A service will be held at 2pm at the Duncan United Church, 246 Ingram Street, Duncan, BC on May 8th, 2025 with reception to follow.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the BC Naturalists. bc-naturalists-foundation | CharityProfile | Donate Online