ROCHFORD, Dermott Leslie

July 4, 1940 — July 5, 2024

Suddenly, in the early morning hours of July 5, 2024, one day after his 84th birthday, Dermott “Leslie” Rochford left us.

Born in 1940 in London, England to Mary and Henry Rochford, Leslie became the youngest brother to Henry, Dick, Vera, and Bernadette. After a mischievous and adventurous youth, rebelling against any authority and what he felt was a restrictive London private school system, Leslie eventually found his calling in the hospitality sector. There he was able to make use of his many talents, his charming personality, his witty and astute Irish sense of humour, and to develop a deep love for life. His career took him from junior hotel positions in Bermuda and the Bahamas to top-management positions in first-class hotels in Ottawa, Jamaica, Victoria, Banff, Winnipeg, and Trinidad.

It was Bermuda 1962, that Helga entered his life, with all the intrigue and adventure that twenty-somethings in an exotic location can muster. That was the start of a sixty-two-year love affair that was filled with laughter, adventures, mishaps, missteps, sadness, great joy, and above all, a desire to live life to the fullest. The six-month trek that took them from Chile to Mexico—backpacking, bussing, and staying in hostels—while in their mid-sixties is a testament to the free spirit that kept them vibrantly alive and in tune. Though Helga and Leslie, like many married couples, at times drove each other mad, they learned to tolerate and cherish each other and to end each day with a laugh and a ‘good night, Luvie.’

Leslie and Helga were blessed with two beautiful children, Lisa (1966-2014) and Christopher (1969). The young family enjoyed their early years in Ottawa and Victoria, making many fast and long-time friendships. By the 1980s, they settled in London, Ontario. There, Leslie and Helga opened the hugely successful first-class restaurant Whittington’s and adjoining Irish pub, Pickwick’s. While in London, Leslie grew to become a proud and encouraging father, guiding and providing for his children in a fair (though they didn’t always think so at the time!) and loving way. In the late 1990s, two wonderful grandsons, Nicholas and Jake, entered and enriched his life in so many ways.

In keeping with an entrepreneurial spirit and undaunted for long by any setback, Leslie and Helga eventually found themselves in Kelowna and started a successful, innovative hospitality assessment service, Carlar Enterprises. It was in Kelowna that Leslie and Helga finally settled down.

Witty, funny (oh, how we would laugh), cheeky, and always charming, Leslie is remembered and cherished by Helga, Christopher, adoring daughter-in-law, Niki, grandsons Nicholas and Jake. (He is probably sharing loving hugs and laughs with Lisa right now.) In addition to long-time family member, Sabrina, Leslie is also deeply missed by other close family members in the UK and in Canada—nieces Andrea (favourite), Claudia, Monica, and nephews Peter and Michael. He is remembered by his many friends and acquaintances all over the world for his warmth, the twinkle in his eye, and the mischievous grin that rarely left his face.

Many thanks for the excellent help of the doctors and nurses at the Kelowna General Hospital.

A small private celebration of life will be held to share laughter, stories, good food, and wine. God bless, Leslie, your journey continues.

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