Lennie (Leonard) Robert Joseph Sheehan, 68, passed away this past Thanksgiving weekend, October 10, 2021.  I was his partner for the last 9 years.  Here is a brief insight into the amazing man I knew.

Lennie was very sad to lose his parents, Mary and Bill Sheehan of Middleton, when he was in his 20's.  Lennie was adopted.  Mary and Bill were well into their 50's when Mary brought a baby home from the hospital where she worked as a nurse and announced "we're keeping him" to which Bill simply replied "OK".  What a wonderful childhood he had growing up in Middleton, Wilmot, Greenwood and his favourite place of all, Zwickers Lake.  But they were older parents and left Lennie way too soon.  I'm sure Lennie is reunited with them now and they're playing Yahtzee together.

Lennie was a father to Tara and was also a grandfather to Rae.  Sadly, he was not involved in Rae's life, but he really wanted to be.

Lennie was Wild Hog Stepdaddy to Adrienne, his Wild Hog Stepdaughter.  Adrienne was one of many "adopted" sons and daughters Lennie collected.  If he felt a connection with you, male or female, you were instantly adopted by him.  And he kept in touch with all his sons and daughters.  With Adrienne though, it was simply because she was my daughter.  Lennie loved her unconditionally.

In 2017 Lennie and I moved from Ontario to the lovely village of Morden.  We both were drawn to this quaint little community and its wonderful residents.  Lennie enjoyed serving tea and coffee at the monthly breakfasts the town held in the community centre.  What a perfect opportunity for him to talk to anybody who would listen!

Lennie was a storyteller – oh could he spin a yarn!  And funny!  He was full of long entertaining stories which he loved to repeat often.  His childhood shenanigans were hilarious!  He also had many, many stories from his years as a long haul trucker.  This little guy (5'4, 140 pounds) drove these massive trucks all over North America and he was good at it!  He took great pride in the fact that he drove over 1,000,000 miles accident free.  His experience at trucking came in handy when we bought a 40' RV and spent winters in Florida.  I trusted his experience on the road and was not nervous during the long drive south.

Lennie was a school bus driver and was the best darn bus driver you would ever want.  He loved all his students and adopted several of them.  One student in particular was very special to him and she visited a couple of times over the summer.  That meant the world to him.

Lennie was absolutely thrilled to be the inspiration for a character in the Paradise series of novels written by his childhood friend Carol Ann Cole.  Small town, ordinary Lennie Sheehan became Lenny Calhoun, Private Investigator in the Witness Protection Program.  What a fine way to be immortalized!

Lennie grew up on motorcycles and had many in his lifetime.  But as the years went by he became nervous about being on the road on a bike.  He sold his beloved Harley and bought a vintage Volkswagen Beetle.  He had so many fond memories of his very first car and he relived them every time he took "Dieter" out for a spin.  Luckily he was able to have a final drive in Dieter just a few days before he passed.

His passing was expected yet unexpected.  Damn you cancer!  Thanks to palliative care nurse Janet Welton and Dr. Lauren Clark-Gallant for calling and texting me throughout the day on the Saturday of the long Thanksgiving weekend giving me guidance and advice as Lennie and I struggled on that last day of his life.  The doctors and nurses in the oncology ward at Valley Regional Hospital are extraordinary.  Of course Lennie adopted most of them too.

Lennie wanted an informal graveside "service" at Pine Grove Cemetery in New Albany.  This will take place on Monday, October 18, 2021 at 2:00 p.m.  All are welcome to attend.

I could go on and on about this loving, selfless, loyal, funny, often annoying, incredible man.  I'll close by saying that Lennie loved James Bond and saw every single James Bond movie multiple times.  In fact he often referred to himself as Lennie Bond.  So friends - Lennie Bond has fought his last battle.  007 over and out.