Les left school to work on the railway near Lloydminster, Alta. He returned to B.C. to work the smelter. He enlisted in the army in 1950, joining the Princess Patricia Infantry in Calgary, and was deployed to Korea in 1951 and Germany in 1957. In Germany, he cooked for the Queens Own Rifles, winning culinary honours in the Rhine Cookery Competitions. Les apprenticed in construction and entered commercial construction; West Edmonton Mall became one of his largest projects. Les met Florence through mutual friends in 1988. Les enjoyed sketching, golfing, dancing and travelling. An archaeology buff, he was thrilled to discover 4–6,000-year-old bison bones while enlarging a basement. Les worked hard to balance both his families. He loved gardening with his grandchildren. He liked solving the world’s problems, including petitioning the government for a new road. Les saw many prayers answered as he struggled to stay with those he loved. Les met his last goals: to see his 25th wedding anniversary, another Christmas and his 85th birthday.
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