February 23, 1938 - September 18, 2023
In Loving Memory ~
László Tibor Tóth (Les/Leslie) died peacefully in his hometown hospital of Clearwater, BC, on September 18, 2023, at the age of 85.
Les was born in Hungary on Feb 23, 1938, to János Tóth and Margit (now Poszovecz).
A survivor, he immigrated from war-torn Hungary in 1956 on his own, evading Soviet border checkpoints, living in a refugee camp, before making his way to refugee-friendly Canada, carrying only a prized rosary from his homeland.
To put that in perspective, Les was only 18 at the time when he arrived in Montreal, Canada. He did not speak French or English, and as you can imagine, this early life was full of uncertainty and struggle.
Les was trained as a machinist prior to the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, but language barriers kept him from obtaining that qualification in Canada, so he worked as a skilled labourer (forklift operator) until he retired.
From Montréal, where immigrants first landed in Canada, Les moved west for work and eventually met Anne Lamour, a good Catholic French Canadian farm girl from Saskatchewan and they had five children together - Suszanne Toth, Kathleen Stang, Laszlo Toth, Colleen Whyte, Kimberly Toth-Bartko.
In the second chapter of Les' life, he moved to Clearwater, working at the Vavenby Division of Weyerhaeuser sawmill, and it's here where he met Carol Menard. Together they had one child - Mona Toth. We lost Carol after an illness in December 2013, which impacted Les profoundly, as Les and Carol were inseparable soulmates.
In addition to having an outstanding work ethic, Les was a complex, unique and artistic European who was also a passionate and gifted wood carver. He created exquisite high-relief wood carvings and full figurines. At the peak of his prolific carving career, there were few households in the Clearwater area that didn't have a piece of Les' artwork displayed somewhere in their home.
In his retired years, Les was known in the Clearwater community as the elderly gent in a toque who always had a friendly wave for everyone he passed while out for his daily walks around town.
Les lived through tumultuous times and overcame intimidating challenges throughout his life but left the world in a peaceful way among family on a beautiful fall morning. We miss him and the many ways he touched our lives and helped shape who we've become.
Les leaves a legacy of his six children, his sister Mária Tóth back in Hungary and her children, Tünde, Kalman, and Melinda, as well as his late sister Katilin's son Gusztáv.
Rest in peace, Dad.
Note that there will be no service as per Les' wishes.
Condolences may be sent to the family at DrakeCremation.com
250-377-8225
