JACKSON, Leonard Douglas Jackson

He was born at home on November 5, 1939 in the small farming community of Highland Creek, Ontario (now Scarborough) to parents Arthur and Margaret (Peggy) Jackson. He was devoted husband to his wife Sharron who predeceased him and is now survived by his wife Brenda. He was a loving father to his four children, James (Leanne), Dineen (Howard), Melody (Clare), Heather (Matthew), and his daughter-in-love, Cindy. He was proud grandfather of: Elaine, Emily, Tyler, Jessica, Drew, Stephanie, Samantha, Kaelen, and Mackenzie; and great-grandfather to: Briar, Eden, Brynnlee, Addisyn, Landon, Tommy, Elouisa, Quinton, Waverly, Daphne, and Henry.
After graduating from East Northumberland Secondary school, Len went to Hamilton Teachers college from 1960-1961. He started his teaching career in the Niagara District School Board as a classroom teacher. He married his high school sweetheart, Sharron Hill from Dusty Bend (Brighton) in 1963. They had three children together and eventually settled in a home in Frankford, Ontario. At this time, Len was instrumental in starting up the Voyageur Club which was a club through his school that gave students an opportunity to learn skills that would help them enjoy the outdoors through hiking and canoeing. He also gained a Specialist in teaching Special Education and worked with students who had diverse educational needs.
In February of 1976, there was a house fire in their family home, in which Sharron passed away and their daughter Dineen suffered serious burns. After the fire, Len and the kids lived for several months with Sharron’s parents, Bob and Thursa Hill, while Bob and Len made preparations to begin building a new home on the Frankford property.
In 1977, Len married Brenda Post, a school teacher from Stockdale. He also started a new direction in his teaching career when he started teaching industrial arts. Teaching “shop” was the joy of his teaching career. While teaching in Trenton, Len was proud of his students’ many entries of their work in local fair competitions and his opportunities to coach both boys and girls intermediate basketball. Len and Brenda welcomed his youngest child Heather into the family in 1979. A few years later, Len and Brenda built their home in Codrington where Len enjoyed spending his time caring for the property, raising a variety of animal friends, and various construction projects.
Len retired from teaching in 1995 and filled his time volunteering to do carpentry work at a kids camp and Habitat for Humanity, building toys, constructing model replicas of local historical buildings, and golfing. He and Brenda started the yearly tradition of travelling a couple of months each year to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. At the age of 60, he discovered a new passion, reading for enjoyment. It was never wise to get him talking about his most recent book as he would likely ruin the ending for you!
Later, as the upkeep of the Codrington property grew arduous, Len and Brenda moved to Bowmanville and then more recently to their home in Brooklin.
Len will be remembered as a man of integrity, kindness, and faith, always imparting words of wisdom and common sense suggestions, and holding onto the principle that we should be “ever mindful of the rights and privileges of others.”

Visitation at Barnes Memorial Funeral Home, 5295 Thickson Rd N Whitby on Thursday November 20th from 11:00 am until time of service in the Barnes Chapel Thursday at Noon.
A reception will follow the service. In memory of Leonard, memorial donations may be directed to the Whitby Baptist Church (Food Bank).
Leonard will be laid to rest at Stockdale Cemetery. Messages of condolence and shared memories can be left for the family by visiting barnesmemorialfuneralhome.com