Edmond Raymond Letain

After a long battle with oral cancer, Ed died on April 9, 2021, at Victoria Hospice. Ed was predeceased by his parents Lucienne and Ray Letain. In addition to me, his wife, left to mourn and remember him are his brother and sister-in-law Frank and Anne Letain, and his nieces Beth and Meredith. Also greatly missing him are his ‘brothers from different mothers' Chris Keeler and Craig Hawkins, and their spouses Cat Brooker and Roxanne Hawkins all of Edmonton. Born in Edmonton on November 12, 1957, Ed was the second son of Lucienne, and the only son of Ray, her second husband. Ed had many fond memories of growing up in the west end of Edmonton, and spoke of riding his bike through fields which would one day become the West Edmonton Mall, as well as getting into various scrapes and adventures. Ed made many friends throughout his early teens at Sir Thomas Moore Jr. High - friendships that continue to this day. But the two that stand out are the relationships he has with Chris and Craig. These friendships have continued throughout their lives, through ups and downs, job changes, marriages, and many motorcycle tours. For in addition to his friendship with the guys, the other constant in Ed's life was his love and obsession with motorcycles. At the age of 14 he managed to get his parents to agree that if he was able to save enough he could have a bike. He suspected that they figured that that age it would be years before he would have enough money. However, due to his build and already thinning hair, he managed to get a job as a construction labourer for the summer, and quickly made enough to buy a small bike. His parents honoured their promise, and, according to Chris, Ed got a "A red Harley Davidson 65 cc 2 stroke with a 3 speed transmission. Just about the coolest thing you could imagine at 14". Ed said his mother then taught him to ride by running beside him down the lane, and operating the clutch until he got the hang of it. After high school Ed attended the University of Alberta for a time, and then worked in the oil industry. He eventually found his way to Ryerson, where he studied film.
Following graduation, Ed returned to Edmonton where he began working for Access Network. During this time, he also met and married his first wife, Christine.
After several years working in TV, Ed followed an interest in intellectual property law to application and acceptance to the University of Victoria Faculty of Law. Together, in 1992, Ed and Christine moved to Victoria, where Ed began his studies, earning his LLB in 1995, as well as the 1995 Russell & DuMoulin Prize in Intellectual Property Research for his paper on colourization of movies and the resulting implications for film artists' copyrights. After practicing law for several years in Victoria, Ed came to the realization that it was not for him. In 2005 he wrapped up his practice, and began applying to government positions. After a couple of short-term positions with the BC Government, in 2006 Ed became an Arbitrator at the Residential Tenancy Branch, where his legal training was used to resolve disputes between landlords and tenants. Eventually, he assumed the position of Manager, where he provided leadership to a team of arbitrators and contributed to policy development. He was immensely proud of the work done in the Branch, where he remained until his death. Some time after their move to Victoria, his marriage to Christine ended. He and I met through really early online dating after he'd been single for a couple of years - digital cameras still had 3 inch floppies, and smart phones were still a dream. After the initial face-to-face meeting in June 2002, we moved in together, and were married May 20, 2006.
Together we enjoyed each other's company, entertained, read widely, watched movies, travelled, and supported a string of very spoilt cats. I never laughed as much as I did with him.
We also spent a great deal of time shouting at the news. Ed enjoyed a really good breakfast - particularly eggs Benedict. If none was available, there better be bacon. We also enjoyed meeting friends out for breakfast on the weekend, which gave rise Ed's Axiom - meet at 10 minutes to the hour or 20 minutes past the hour, because no one ever says ‘let's meet a 8:50'. It's always 9:00. By adjusting your meeting time you can usually miss out on the whole business of standing in line. You're welcome. The main theme of Ed's life was the love and appreciation he had for his family and friends. As his friend Alison wrote: "He was funny, kind, appreciated the finer things in life, was fiercely loyal and more than a little bit exasperating at times." He was incredibly proud of the achievements of his nieces Beth and Meredith, and was thrilled to spend time with them. He was both delighted and awed by Frank's post-retirement study of music. Anne's apple pie was the benchmark against which all apple pies were measured. He enjoyed the ruthless online scrabble games he conducted with many of his friends. His chat history is long and varied. He was always up for a motorcycle ride, which in Victoria can happen at virtually any time of year. Questions regarding motorcycles, or his latest car, could result in dissertation-level explanations and comparisons of merit. Actually, questions were not always required… Squamous cell throat cancer is pretty awful. Ed was first diagnosed in January 2009, and the lesion on his tongue was removed. However, in the summer of 2019 a persistent earache and swollen lymph node were diagnosed as secondary throat cancer. Through dozens of radiation treatments, several chemotherapies, a tonsillectomy, and other interventions and indignities, Ed remained both stoic and positive. COVID protocols rendered the journey even more isolated. However, COVID equally allowed me to work from home for the last year, and spend every last day with him. Through it all he persisted and remained brave. Due to Covid restrictions, we will not be having a gathering at this time. Once those are lifted, we will be arranging get togethers in both Victoria and Edmonton to share our remembrances of Ed. Messaging will go out then. If you wish to acknowledge Ed's passing in some way, please consider a contribution to BC Cancer, Victoria Hospice, or similar organization in your community. I would like to thank Dr. Kevin Wylie for his care and concern, particularly over the last year. Thanks are also extended to Dr. Hosam Kader and Dr. Sunil Parimi and the technicians and staff of the BC Cancer Clinic in Victoria for their treatment and support. And finally, grateful thank you to the people of Victoria Hospice, for their compassionate care of Ed in his final days.
I would also like to express my heartfelt thank you to all the friends and family who supported us over the last year. In particular, I'd like to thank my family, Bob and Jacqueline Shearer and Craig and Julie Shearer in Winnipeg and Todd Shearer in Edmonton for the emotional support, and the Zoom chats. Thanks to Meredith Letain for her crazy cat pictures that always brought a giggle. And I'd especially like to thank Frank and Anne Letain, Lara Wilson and Kelly Harms, Craig and Roxanne Hawkins, Chris Keeler and Cat Brooker, Monique Laaper, Max and Brenda Durando and Dave and Val Bird for your physical presence over the last months when the going got really, really tough. Your love continually touched and comforted us, and we were amazed at the breadth of the community we are a part of. Shiny side up, my love. I love you crazy bunches. Karen