Roxroy West

Roxroy West

It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Roxroy (Rox) West on December 16, 2023 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He has found relief and peace after years of pain and suffering. He was a strong, courageous and resilient man but the last few years were a challenge.

Rox was born in Monthey, Switzerland on June 1, 1952 and immigrated to Canada in 1959. He was the dearly beloved husband and partner par excellence of Diane Payment for almost 46 years. He was the son of Roxroy West of Trinidadian heritage and Sara Tiboldo of Swiss heritage, who predeceased him. He was a new Canadian who experienced racism and prejudice, as a member of a visible minority, in his youth in Kingston, Ontario and later in Winnipeg, Manitoba where he lived since 1977.  This experience marked his whole life and relations with others.

Papa chéri de minous, Minette, Okima, Babette et Shisma.  Il aimait beaucoup les animaux et la nature. Ses voyages dans les Caraïbes, en Suisse, en Italie, en Écosse et en France ont été une grande source de joie et de détente.

Son esprit taquin et son petit côté espiègle ont été une source de joie pour ses proches. Ses loisirs étaient la musique classique et le jazz, la menuiserie, la lecture et les films d’action. Il assistait régulièrement aux concerts de la symphonie de Winnipeg. Il aimait faire la fine cuisine et bien sûr savourer la bonne bouffe suisse, italienne et française et locale avec un bon verre (ou deux) de vin.

Rox graduated with in M.A. in History at the University of Ottawa and Law (L.L.B.) at the University of Manitoba as a mature student in 1990. He worked his way to the “to the top” in a variety of jobs as a security guard, restaurant server and VIA Rail porter in the 1970s and 1980s, a good training ground for his subsequent gruelling career as a lawyer. He was immensely proud of his francophone heritage. He was a bilingual family and criminal defense lawyer in St-Boniface for almost 30 years, as an independent owner/practitioner at Bureau d’avocats - Provencher - Law Office, until his retirement in November, 2019. Many clients that he defended were grateful for his on-going support and integrity, in particular parents who had lost custody of their children. He also helped many abused women in their divorce proceedings. He was an assertive litigator but sensitive, generous and honest.

Also left to cherish his memory: a sister Fanny Leuenberger (Hansruedi), nieces Myriam (Alper) and Nicole, uncle Gene Leroy (tonton Hans), cousins in Switzerland, Italy, the UK, the U.S.A. and Trinidad, and extended family and friends in Canada.

Tchi-Rox chéri, tu me manques énormément et tu seras toujours dans mon cœur. Ce n’est qu’un aurevoir. Buon viaggo/Bon voyage, ta Diane.

A private celebration of life and committal will be held at a later date. Adam’s Funeral Home of Notre Dame de Lourdes, Manitoba in care of arrangements.  Phone 204-248-2201.

Pensées

Où vas-tu nuage

Je ne sais pas enfant,

Je fais mon voyage

Comme il plaît au vent

Poème de Berthe Vaudier, Genève, que mami récitait à son petit Rox.

…Un jour nous nous reposerons…ce qui nous pousse c’est cette impuissance à changer la vie, le chagrin…et le rêve d’essayer encore malgré tout…pour le temps que l’on vivra.

Gabrielle Roy, Ma petite rue qui m’a menée autour du monde, p.34.