Leo Smits
Gifted teacher, outspoken advocate for the disadvantaged, competitive squash player, musician. Born Oct. 16, 1947, in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Died July 23, 2011, in Guelph, Ont., of bladder cancer, aged 63.
Leo Smits was very much a renaissance man. Always forthright, he never flinched in speaking truth to power, whatever the consequences.
Born in the Netherlands, Leo immigrated to Canada in 1954 with his family. They lived in rented basements in Toronto until 1958, when they moved into one of the first units erected in the city's newest housing project, Lawrence Heights.
From an early age, Leo's spare time was taken up by a variety of work, most importantly helping his father in his house-painting business. When Leo wasn't working, his mother made sure he attended Cubs, Boy Scouts and Rangers – her way of keeping him out of trouble.
School had to fit in around these extracurricular activities and, generally, lost out to them. By Grade 10, Leo was years behind in reading and writing but excelled in music and athletics. Rather than struggle, he left school after Grade 12 to enter a management training program at TD Bank.
The late sixties saw Leo, a guitarist with a good voice and a passion for folk music, playing in coffee houses in Toronto's Yorkville neighbourhood and at the Mariposa Folk Festival. But the musician's lifestyle was not a natural fit with a career in banking. At 24, Leo enrolled in social anthropology at York University, which permitted entry to mature students without Grade 13.
After completing an honours degree in anthropology, Leo did a master's, focusing his research on Toronto's methadone program. Throughout university, he supported himself with part-time work as a social worker and, later, as a crisis worker with Children's Aid. At York University he met Sally Humphries, a mature student who would become his life partner.
In 1980, Leo began a 30-year teaching career, first in the community worker program at Humber College and later at the University of Guelph-Humber, where he served as head of the family and community social service worker program. As a skilled teacher and natural leader with a strong sense of humour, Leo was someone to whom students could easily relate. His style was one of tough love because he knew just how tough students needed to be to stay in school, juggling multiple jobs and family demands.
Outside of work, Leo played squash with a passion, ranking third in 1986 in the Masters Games and fourth nationally in his age category. In the local community, he was a founder member, then president, of ARCH, a legal clinic for people with disabilities.
A humanitarian award in Leo's name has been set up at Humber College to support mature students committed to community development and advocacy on behalf of people with disabilities.
Sally Humphries is Leo's partner.