There are many words to describe Leonard Joseph Fach but patient is not one of them. He enjoyed life and wanted to make the most out of every minute. Len was born in August 1932 to Ken and Rosina. He spent his childhood on Nottingham Street in Guelph with his siblings Norm, Ann, and Ron. While times were tough in those years, that didn’t stop him from enjoying fishing and hockey with friends. As a young lad, he attended St. Stanislaus School and took a job keeping the furnace in the basement of Church of our Lady (now the Basilica of Our Lady Immaculate) full of coal so that the church would stay warm in the dead of the winter months. In 1952, he married the love of his life Charlotte Grace Couling and they moved to a small apartment on Ontario street. In 1954, they bought a home on Victoria Road in Guelph where they raised their four children; Danny (2014), David (Marianne), Cathy (Bill Kannenberg) and Ken (Michelle). The children knew it was time to come home when they heard Len calling(!) their name from the front door. Len knew the meaning of hard work, spending 38 years working at General Electric as a tanker, switch gear operator and ending his career in quality control. His work allowed him to experience parts of this great country as a member of the crew on the Churchill Falls Hydro Electric Project in Newfoundland/Labrador. In 1979, Grace and Len moved to Ironwood Road where he spent many hours tending over his garden and his wine. Winemaking was a craft for Len. He successfully made wine out of many fruits and was always more than happy to bring out a bottle (or several) when you visited for dinner. An avid fisherman, Len landed ‘Wanda’ in 1993; a 37lb lake trout that was enjoying life in Lake Anamanip until it met its match. He retired at the age of 60 and enjoyed the next 25 years with his beautiful wife playing golf (5 hole in ones) and bridge, fishing, making wine (thank you dad!), watching the Blue Jays (yelling at the TV most of the time) and enjoying the life they built with numerous friends in Florida. Len cherished his 9 grandchildren Graham (Jenny) Curtis, Shauna (Lee Schubert), Amy (Adam Kidd), Justine (Zach Holmes), Steven (Jessica), Natalie (Kevin), Brittney (Lorne Murray) and Madison. His love overflowed with the addition of 8 great-grandchildren; Vivian and Delila Schubert, Avery and Aislyn Kidd, Austin and Evie Holmes, Addi Kannenberg and Chase Murray. Len had such presence that it is hard to imagine our lives without him in it. Yet we know he left this world a happy man with no regrets and that we will share a laugh and a glass of wine with him again someday. Gabriel……play that horn!
Friends will be received at Gilbert MacIntyre and Son Funeral Home, Dublin Chapel, 252 Dublin St, N., Guelph, on Monday, July 9, 2018 from 7 to 9 p.m., with vigil prayers taking place at 8:30 p.m. A memorial mass for Len will be held at St. Joseph’s Church, 409 Paisley Rd, Guelph, on Tuesday, July 10, 2018 at 11 a.m., with a reception to follow in the church hall.
As expressions of sympathy, donations may be made to Hospice Wellington. Donation cards are available at the funeral home, (519-822-4731), or online donations and condolences may be left at www.gilbertmacintyreandson.com.