Leslie Rohit Barran died at home in his sleep on Tuesday, July 10, 2018. He was in failing health after cardiac arrest October 2016. Les is survived by his wife of 56 years, Mary Ann Simpkins Barran; their son, Craig Barran; his brother, Vid; his sisters, Sav, Kam, Marcia and Claudette; and by numerous in-laws, nieces and nephews.
Leslie was born July 29, 1939, in Guyana. His Father was a government health inspector and his Mother a midwife in Skeldon. Swimming, stealing mangos and coconuts, and racing around his village with friends were all part of Les’s free and easy childhood. At age 11, he was sent to Queen’s College in Georgetown where he excelled. In 1959, he came to Montreal to study at McGill University’s Macdonald College and immediately fell in love with the Canadian climate. The ability to read a book without wiping sweat off his brow struck Les as perfectly wonderful and snow was charming. Only in later life did he come to his senses.
He also fell in love with Mary Ann Simpkins, but at the age of 19, she could not then marry in Quebec without her father’s permission. The two of them ran off to Ontario and eloped, to the astonishment of her parents and the utter delight of her four younger brothers and sisters who saw this as the most romantic thing ever. Their son Craig was born two years later.
After finishing his undergraduate and Master’s degrees, Leslie continued on to Michigan State University to study biochemistry. After his PhD, he joined Agriculture Canada as a Research Scientist, working on plant genetics and nitrogen fixation. He had sabbaticals in San Diego, Toulouse and Cuernevaca. When government cutbacks and reorganization in 1997 sent him to Quebec City, he delighted in learning French and was proud of the proficiency he attained. The family later returned to Ottawa.
Once Mary Ann became a travel writer, the couple took off and never stopped. “What country are they in now?” became a frequent question. He became the official photographer for her stories and referred to himself as Mary Ann’s assistant.
As a good West Indian, cricket was part of his life along with socializing afterwards in the “tea house,” where no tea was served. Calypso, jazz, and classical music were important to him, and he loved to sing. He could play the mandolin and keyboard by ear and was relearning the guitar in retirement. He wrote poetry and put together a reasonable wine cellar. He was a voracious reader, and politics was his preferred subject. He had his son Craig watching the news at the tender age of four. Proudly Canadian, he regarded Ottawa as a very good place to live. We remember Leslie’s warmth, kindness, calm, and hospitality and will miss him terribly.
We will celebrate his life at Beechwood Cemetery, Ottawa, on Monday July 16, 2018 from 2:00 to 5:00 pm with Words of Remembrance at 2:30. Donations to the Ottawa Hospital Foundation appreciated.