Obituary of Leona MacIntyre

 Mary Leona (MacKenzie) MacIntyre of Morristown, and formerly of Belnan, N.S., passed away peacefully on Friday, October 17, 2025 in St. Martha's Regional Hospital, Antigonish. Born December 9, 1936 in Antigonish she was a daughter of the late Garfield and Winnifred (MacEachern) MacKenzie.

Besides her parents she was predeceased by her husband, John Joseph and her eldest sister, Helen Fraser.

She is survived by her twin sons, Richard and Roderick (Mary Leigh), as well as sons Leonard and Donald (Heather). She also leaves behind her beloved grandchildren: Dylan (Shanta), Kayleigh, Rebecca, Gracie, Alexis, and Anita; and great-grandsons John Joseph Edward and Jax Roderick MacIntyre; siblings: Gordon, Johnie, Jimmie, Archie, and Douglas MacKenzie and sister Anita MacDonald.

In February 1949, at the age of 13, Leona contracted polio, a devastating illness at the time. She spent many months in Saint Martha’s Hospital and the Children's Hospital in Halifax—her first time away from home and family, and a very lonely chapter in her life.

In 1953, just four years later, when Leona was 17 her beloved mother, Winifred, passed away at the age of 37. The following year, in 1954, her sister Helen married and moved to Boston. Leona remained at home, keeping house for her father and brothers until her marriage to John Joseph MacIntyre in 1960. They were married for 63 years at the time of J.J.’s passing on November 19, 2023.

They lived in Eastern Passage, before they built their first house in Belnan, Hants County. After J.J.’s retirement from Air Canada in 1991 they sold their Belnan home to their son Richard and built a retirement home in Morristown, Antigonish in 1993, just up the hill from Leona’s childhood home in Partridge Hollow.

Leona stood just 4’11” and was a quiet, humble woman. She was a perfectionist in the truest sense—everything she did was done with care and precision. She had beautiful penmanship, was an excellent cook, famous for her delicious pickles, including cucumber relish and green tomato chow chow, and her fabulous apple jelly. The smell of her freshly baked porridge bread lingers in our memories. Her War Cake at Christmas was worth the wait every year.

She also excelled in sewing, coming first in her adult night class, and was a gifted knitter—producing countless mittens, socks, Newfoundland-style salt and pepper caps, Afghans, and sweaters. Her quilting was exact and meticulous, and her home was always immaculate.

Leona was the keeper of her grandmother Cassie (Cameron) MacKenzie’s famous Red Dahlias—original bulbs given to Cassie in the early 1950s by Jim Shute of New York. Her son Rod proudly continues that tradition today.

As per her request, there will be no visitation or reception. A Funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. on Monday, October 20, 2025, in Saint Columba Church, Lakevale, with Reverend Andrew Boyd presiding. Burial will follow in the parish cemetery. Mass cards are welcome, or donations may be made in Leona’s memory to the Canadian Cancer Society or a charity of your choice.