Leith Stanley Thompson

The death occurred at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital of Leith Stanley Thompson on Monday, January 6, 2025 at the age of 90 years. He died peacefully after a short illness.

Leith was born on August 22, 1934, in Margate, P.E.I. to Katherine and Stanley Thompson, the middle of three children. After graduating from high school, he attended Prince of Wales College and then obtained his Bachelor of Science at MacDonald College in Montreal. He went on to earn his PhD in entomology at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

He married Joan Doreen Rogerson in 1958 and together they had four children. He was an entomologist at the Charlottetown Research Station for 35 years, retiring at 55 years of age. He then became very busy as a volunteer for many not-for-profit boards, some of which included the Law Society of P.E.I., Dental Council of P.E.I., Island Nature Trust, and the Pesticide Advisory Committee. He was an active Rotarian as well for over 30 years.

Singing was one of Leith’s greatest joys. The entire “Thompson family” participated in the P.E.I. Music Festival and would share their musical gifts with church congregations throughout the Island. He was a member of the Tea Hill Choristers, Confederation Choir, Trinity United and Park Royal United church choirs, and the Good News Singers, directed by his wife.

He and Joan moved their young family to a small farm in Cross Roads and there they embraced gardening, hiking, and the occasional horse back ride. Living in a large farmhouse led to the purchase of a wood lot near Montague to feed the ravenous wood-fueled furnace. This was the source of many family adventures to the wood lot and despite the work involved, the time spent together in the woods will always be treasured.

He will be dearly missed by his four children – Stephen (Katherine), Laurie (Michael), Nora (Andrew), and Jason (Christine); and his 12 grandchildren – Celina, Kendal and Stuart; William, Adam, Matthew, and David; Erin and Megan; and Jeremy, Ryan, and Bonnie. He leaves behind several nieces and nephews and brothers and sisters-in-law – Alan (Lynn), Maida (Martin), and Brent (Pat).

Leith was pre-deceased by the love of his life, Joan Thompson (nee Rogerson) and his siblings Carmon “Tom” (Mervin) and Carol (Gary).

Shortly after Joan passed, Leith moved to the Gower Street apartment. His Gower building friends became a great source of social enrichment for him and he was very grateful to have had them in his life.

Per Leith’s wishes, there will be no visiting hours. His celebration of life will be held at Park Royal United Church on Monday, January 13, 2025 at 1 p.m. A reception will follow in the church hall.

For those unable to attend in person, a live stream of the service will be available by following this link: Live Stream. If you experience difficultly accessing the livestream, please call 1-877-895-2739.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the Belvedere Funeral Home. His family would like to thank staff at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Dr. Mitchell Stewart for their care and kindness.

Donations in Leith’s memory may be made to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Cancer Treatment Centre.