BARBEAU, LONA MARY (NEE LEYH)

BARBEAU, LONA MARY (NEE LEYH) March 11, 1942 ~ April 16, 2023
Our mother, grandmother and great-grandmother Lona, passed away peacefully on April 16, 2023, at the age of 81 years. Her family was in attendance during her last days of being cared for in St. Joseph’s Hospice in Medicine Hat. She was predeceased by her first husband Leo Barbeau and her second husband Leo Sellinger; her parents Russell and Rhea (Hayes) Leyh; her father-in-law and mother-in-law George and Nellie (McLaughlin) Barbeau; brother-in-law Noel (Alfreda) Barbeau, and her son-in-law Don Lloyd. She is survived by her son Blair (Eve) Barbeau of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; daughter Lori Lloyd of Okotoks, Alberta, and son Shayne (Tetyana) Barbeau of Desert Blume, Alberta; her grandchildren Mark (Jenn) Kotyk, Michele (Afshon) Ostovar, Jayme, Julian, Kira (Bryan) and Braden Lloyd, Michael (Jasmine) Mykhaylov and Natalea Barbeau; great-grandchildren Danny Ostovar, Maya Kotyk and Emmalyn Pachal as well as the extended Sellinger family. Lona was born in Humboldt, Saskatchewan on March 11, 1942, to Russell and Rhea Leyh. She grew up in Humboldt with her grandparents Harold and Gertrude (Harder) Hayes while her parents tended to their farm near Viscount, Saskatchewan. She attended Catholic School in Humboldt, the Ursuline Academy in Bruno, and Humboldt High School. She married her first husband Leo in 1960 in Humboldt where he was working with Sask Power. Their family started out in Maple Creek, Saskatchewan and moved to Yorkton, Melville and back to Maple Creek in 1973. Lona worked as the elementary school librarian while her children were attending school in both Melville and Maple Creek and loved helping all the children she met. At the library, she was able to share her passion for seasonal holidays, by filling the room with festive decorations. Lonaparticipated in church-related and volunteer activities and enjoyed the role of being a church organist at St. Lawrence Catholic Church. She lived her last years in Medicine Hat, with her second husband, Leo Sellinger. Upon his passing in 2020, her grandson Jayme came to live with her. Lona took a sincere interest in the happiness and welfare of her family and all the people she met. She will be dearly missed by her family as well as her many close friends. A funeral service will be announced at a later date. Interment will also be at a later date at St. Augustine Catholic Cemetery in Humboldt and in Maple Creek Cemetery. In honour of Lona’s love for her pets and those of her family, please direct any donations, in lieu of flowers, to animal care facilities in the respective donor’s locale. Cremation has been entrusted to the Pattison Funeral Home and Crematorium. To leave a message of condolence you may visit www.pattisonfuneralhome.com.

PATTISON FUNERAL HOME
AND CREMATORIUM
540 South Railway St. SE,
Medicine Hat T1A 4C2