Humble legacy

Ed And dIAnE LES have had a great impact on patient care at Royal Columbian Hospital through their thoughtful philanthropy over numerous years.

“Thanks to their generosity and drive, we were able to build the fi rst full GI program to serve the entire health region. I can honestly say it would not have happened without Diane and Ed Les. ” -Dr. Ken Atkinson

HUMBLE LEGACY In loving memory of diane Les

It was a random fundraising phone call from Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation that brought Diane Les and her husband Ed into the lives of thousands of others. Since that fi rst call some 16 years ago, with a simple request for a $20 donation, the couple’s unassuming generosity has greatly advanced the care provided to a multitude of patients from across the region. Theirs is a love story with a nurturing side. This is evident not only in their thoughtful philanthropy, but also in a marriage that fl ourished for more than half a century and in the business they

CARdIAC ULTRASOUnd, funded in 2010.

founded and grew over a number of decades. And what better business than gardening, where careful nurturing reaps rewards? Diane and Ed’s story began at Buckerfi eld’s, a garden supply business where in 1957 she was a secretary and he handled packaging and mailing. Ed showed an interest, while Diane was coy. “I’m married,” Ed recalls Diane saying when they fi rst met. “With three kids.” Ed had to fi nd the truth from someone else in the offi ce. She was pulling his leg. It became the truth, however, as Diane and Ed

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nUMEROUS SCOPES have been funded by the Les family over the years.

married within three years of their fi rst date and started a family that grew to three children. They also launched their own business. They took the fi rst two letters from their names to create Eddi’s Wholesale Garden Supplies, a distribution company that initially was run from their home and has successfully grown to employ close to 40 people. From the family’s backyard in Coquitlam, you can clearly see Royal Columbian. On the day the Foundation called, Ed answered. “I need to do something better than that,” he recalls about being asked for $20 to support the hospital. With Crohn’s and colitis in the family, they became interested in the hospital’s need for new scopes. “They’re going to need them. Let’s buy them,” Diane told her husband. Gastroenterologist Dr. Ken Atkinson says the couple’s gift came as his department was looking to expand its services. “Thanks to their generosity and drive, we were able to build the fi rst full GI program to serve the entire health region,” Dr. Atkinson says. “I can honestly say it would not have happened without Diane and Ed Les.” The donation became the fi rst of many substantial gifts made to Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation by the humble couple over the next 15 years. In addition to gastroenterology, they have helped make signifi cant purchases for interventional radiology and cardiology. Ed says his wife was generous in nature and pleased to be able to support the hospital. “She felt terrifi c over it. We had the money, so why not? She was good-hearted,” says Ed. Sadly, Diane was diagnosed with cancer in the summer of 2014 after going to Royal Columbian early one morning, in pain. She passed away on February 10, 2015. “Diane lived her life with passion, warmth and a great sense of humour. She touched so many lives and will be dearly missed by all who knew her,” read her obituary. This is certainly the case at Royal Columbian, where the lives of thousands of people have been made better through the humble support of the Les family.

dIAnE (2nd from left) with a Computer Module Video System, funded for gastroenterology in 2000.

dIAnE with an Intravascular Ultrasound system, funded in 2005.