pg 297 More Big Hill Country 2009
Leigh Blackwell was born on December 28, 1928 in Simcoe, Ontario. Leigh’s brother Bob and their mother Dorothy, and Leigh lived their lives alone through most of the 30’s until Bill McNeill from Calgary came along. In 1938 Bill and Dorothy married. When the Second World War broke out in 1939, Bill was called back to Alberta by his father, Mac McNeill, to operate the family farm in Bearspaw. In the early part of April 1940, they boarded a train in Toronto and headed to the great and wide-open spaces of western Canada. They arrived three days later on a cold, wet, snowy and muddy day. There was no electricity, no running water, no car or means of transportation and worst of all from Dorothy’s point of view, they had to live with Bill’s parents in the same house! Everyone survived and after a while life improved on the farm.
Bob and Leigh attended Bearspaw School. This school has been restored and now resides near the current school. Bill and Dorothy became very much involved in community events. Dorothy played the piano for the annual Christmas concert at the school. Bill became president of the local Bearspaw Mutual Telephone Co. and also the local Rural Electrification Association. They had four children: Jim, Mary, Terry and Anne. Terry resides in Bearspaw with his wife Lorna. Bob moved back to Ontario and finished high school. He attended Trinity College in Toronto and became an Anglican minister.
In October of 1949 Leigh enrolled in the Olds School of Agriculture and graduated in 1951. Upon returning home to the dairy farm, Leigh also worked as a lineman for Bearspaw Mutual for twenty years.
In 1952, Leigh met a girl from Calgary. Her name was Ogenia (Jean) Chalack. They were married on July 17, 1954. They moved to the farm on Woodland Road where Leigh still lives today. Over the next few years they were blessed with three children. Robert was the first born on April 2, 1955. He married a girl from Lomond, Alberta, and they have two children, Kimberley and Ryan. Robert and Marla presently live on a farm on the Horsecreek Road northwest of Cochrane. Their children are grown and live in Calgary. Leigh and Jean’s second son, Michael was born on November 10, 1958. He married Ricki Amantea, a girl from Kimberly, BC. They have two children, Andrea and Mark. They all presently reside in Calgary. Kathy, Leigh and Jean’s only daughter, was born on September 23, 1962. She married Kim Courtney from Lacombe, Alberta and they have two children, Lexie and Graham. They all live on an acreage near Leigh.
Leigh’s wife Jean was the stalwart one of the family. She was always willing to give of her time and expertise within the community. Jean was a devout WI member for many years and was an integral and hard working member of All Saints Anglican Church. Jean was very particular on how things were done. She knew how to make any occasion special. Her friends and co-volunteers remember her insisting that when they made sandwiches, that the filling must be all the way to the edge of the bread – no cheaping out! In December of 1998, Jean succumbed to a lengthy illness and is missed by all who knew and loved her.
Leigh’s life has been filled with great and satisfying events and rewards. He was councillor for the MD of Rockyview from l 983 to l 986. He has been a member of the Bearspaw Lions Club since l 953 and a volunteer with the Bearspaw Fair since its inception in 1968. Leigh and Jean were members of the All Saints Anglican Church for thirty years. One of Leigh’s most enjoyable pastimes is singing and he has been in several choirs over the years. Leigh enjoys his life in Bearspaw and is grateful for his family and friends who have enriched his life
