Leslie Plett

It is with sadness, the family of Leslie R. Plett announce the passing of a beloved husband, father and grandpa on Friday, May 8, 2020 at the age of 77.  He will be dearly missed by Marian, his wife of 55 years; as well as his children, Roland (& Nadine), Twylla (& Randy), Melodie (& Henry), Trevor (& Joellen); and his grandchildren, Nicole, Jeffrey, Regan (& Jeffrey), Braeden, Carter, Rachel, Kabrie (& Jimmy), Rebecca, Justin, Lexi, Damian, Ethan, Riyan and Caleb.

It is with joy we remember that he is now pain-free in his eternal home, heaven, with his brothers, Clarence, Elmer and Bill; as well his parents, Peter AK Plett & Margaret Reimer Plett; and his favourite sister, Annie.

Les was born in the small town of Lorette, MB and grew up around extended family in Landmark, MB.  In his early 20’s, he married the love of his life, Marian, and together they moved where his construction jobs took him.  For a few years he tried his hand at farming near Treesbank, MB and while this lasted only a few years, since then he often burst into stories when he spotted a field of cows.  After farming, he started his own construction company and for several years was the biggest residential builder in Brandon, MB. 

After moving the family to Calgary in 1989, he furthered a hobby he had started in his youth, building art out of scraps of wood in his shop.  He was known as the Schnitzelmeister (master of cuttings) at Calgary train shows where he displayed his handmade wooden to-scale steam engine and coal car.  His latest project was a full size, 1904 Oldsmobile made almost entirely out of wood.

He will be remembered as a man who lit up the room with conversation when he entered.  It didn’t matter whether you’d met before, when you walked away you knew you mattered.  Perhaps it was his love of people that inspired his conversations with Plett relatives worldwide that fuelled the 3 genealogy books he published in his lifetime. 

A Celebration of Life will take place at a future date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS)  https://mds.mennonite.net/donate/