Vale John Albert Leeds
21st July 1937 -13th September 2017
John was born on the 21st of July in 1937 and grew up in the suburb of Croydon. His high school years were spent at Hurlstone Agricultural college in Glenfield which was a very long commute by steam train.
During his high school years he developed a love of all sport and especially excelled in both Rugby and Cricket. Fast forward to 1952 when John met Nina. They met as 15 year olds and were always destined to be together. They married on the 31st August 1956 and recently celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary.
Their daughter, Susan, arrived in 1957, followed by Greg in 1961 and Andrew in 1970.
1961 saw John move his family to Broken Hill which lasted 6 years. Here John developed an enduring love for the outback, which never left him. Many new lifelong friends were made during this time and although the whole family loved “The Hill”, it was only ever a temporary move.
In 1967 John and his family moved into a new home in Jaffa Road, Round Corner, Dural. John opened J and N Smash Repairs very shortly after. Life was extremely busy for John and Nina and during those years. John found a few new sports in which he immersed himself. Water Skiing became another passion and saw John attended several Bridge to Bridge Ski races as an observer. Jogging also became a daily ritual for him in preparation for the annual City to Surf fun run in which he competed for 15 years. Twice coming in under the hour. During John’s time at Round Corner, and a subsequent move to Kenthurst, he joined Dural Rotary Club. Both he and Nina were heavily involved for many years with John holding many positions, including President three times. He was always one of the first to put his hand up for fundraising, to help in any way that he and Nina could. We understand he was a bit of a king of the sausage sizzle !
John received The Paul Harris award, Rotary’s highest accolade, for ‘service above self ‘ and he certainly earned that for his tireless work and love of the community spirit that Rotary promotes. Over the years in Rotary John and Nina made more lifelong friends and those friendships have been enduring and very important to them.
On the 13th of September John passed away suddenly.
John, you lived a full life and crammed many things into your time. You were a true gentleman, a loyal friend, honest with a deep love for your family and friends. You were always smiling and had a wicked sense of humour and loved your family with all your heart.
You will be sorely missed.