Leon Albert TIEDE

Leon Tiede
January 8, 1923 – May 2, 2018

In 1923, Leon Albert Tiede was born to Tabea and Albert Tiede in Zhitomer, Ukraine. He was a brother to Ed and Ethan who was born in Canada after the family immigrated in 1926.

Those early years homesteading on the prairies and later Kelowna were tough. Leon's father passed away when he was a teen. The two elder sons shared the family responsibilities which meant taking turns attending Prairie Bible Institute where Leon completed missions and pastoral training.

Leon and Geraldine met while at Bible school and as singles were accepted by the West Indies Mission to serve in Jamaica where they fulfilled their missionary call. In their second year they married. Gloria, their eldest was born in Mandeville. Unfortunately, Geraldine experienced medical issues that were best resolved in Canada. This meant an end to their missionary service.

Once back home, the family settled in Calgary where Leon completed his carpenter papers and where Gerry was born. Leon's pastoral ministry and church planting began in earnest. He served with the Evangelical Free Church in Bassano, Alberta - where Beth was born - North Delta, Kamloops, Williams
Lake and Sorrento plus at the Vernon Fellowship Baptist Church.

The new church plant in Williams Lake was likely the pinnacle of Leon's ministry. What invigorated him the most was the Bible Basics class where he mentored young believers in their faith. Many went onto ministries of their own and he appreciated hearing about their ventures.

Informal times such as the men's annual fishing retreat were also meaningful. It was at this time Jeanie joined the Tiede family when she married Gerry. Several years later Kristen, their daughter and Grandpa Tiede's only grandchild, was born.

Upon retirement, Leon and Geraldine moved closer to family and made their home in Southwind Estates in Langley. Ever mindful of his pastoral calling Dad led Bible studies in their clubhouse and he also volunteered as chaplain to the seamen who came to the Vancouver ports.

Recognizing their housing needs were changing, Geraldine was the instigator to move into the Evergreen Baptist Seniors Community in White Rock. They were really looking forward to this move. However, in 2005, in the midst of these plans, Geraldine succumbed to cancer before they could move. After her passing, Leon honoured her choice by making Evergreen his new home.

Dad made many friends in his new community. He loved cookies at coffee time and maple walnut ice cream was his absolute favourite at their ice cream socials. As a family, we celebrated Leon's 90th birthday party with extended family and friends at Gerry and Jeanie's home.

It was after his month-long hospital stay in 2016 that Rosemary Heights Care Home became his final home and where in January 2018 he celebrated his 95th birthday.

On May 2, Leon died in his own bed in his own room at Rosemary Heights. He had eaten small amounts of both breakfast and lunch that day and then there was a shift. All three of his children spent time with him that afternoon and then around 6 pm he quietly stopped breathing.