Mom of Humboldt Bronco finds ‘instant connection’ at James Smith

“I wore that for the longest time then I kind of stopped wearing some of the Bronco’s stuff because, especially when I went out of Humboldt, I didn’t really want more attention,” she said.

Instead of wearing it, she keeps it pinned next to a photo of her four children on inside of the roof of her car, right where she can see it all the time.

The ribbon has a place of honour next to a photo of the Leicht children, including Jacob on the top right, in Leray-Leicht’s vehicle. (submitted/Celeste Leray-Leicht)

On September 11, she was waiting for a ride after being asked to go to James Smith by a friend of a friend. They were joined by Carol Brons, mother of Dayna Brons, the Bronco’s athletic therapist who also died in the collision. The friend of a friend happened to be Bear’s sister.

“I looked at that and I pondered putting it on, just because it was beadwork and it was special to me and I decided against it because again, I didn’t want to draw attention to the fact that I was one of the people who lost a son on the Bronco’s crash,” said Leray-Leicht.

She also opted to go because a friend of hers had lost a family member in the recent killings and she wanted to show support.

When she got there, she was approached by Lissa Bear, who recognized her and revealed that she had beaded the ribbon and sent it.

“I couldn’t believe it and here she lost her own family member as well. We were kindred spirits and instantly we became friends,” said Leray-Leicht.

They sat together for the fish-fry meal that followed,

“It was such an amazing afternoon. I didn’t expect to visit with family members because I didn’t know if they would want strangers coming in,” she said.

The women visited for quite a while and plan to keep the connection going.

“Just being there reinforced the importance of relationships, really,” Leray-Leicht said.

From the circumstances surrounding her own son’s death, she knew both that people want to give and show support and that when large groups of people gather, there needs to be food.

The Humboldt women brought some donations gathered by Judy Plag, owner of the Bella Vista Hotel. Plag also gathered donations in 2018 for the Broncos.

Leray-Leicht said she was touched and impressed by the respect shown to the three women from Humboldt by band leadership at a time when the community was suffering from its own tragedy.

Humboldt, in turn, has held a vigil for the victims of the James Smith murders.

“We thought we can do that too. We can pray for our friends just down the road. I think it’s important to show our support,” she explained.

The two communities are 125 kilometres apart.

For Leray-Leicht, a higher power had a hand in the bond that now exists between the two women.

“I don’t believe in coincidences. Personally, I’m spiritual and God is in the details,” she said. “You can call him the Creator or whatever you want, I think we’re all woven together.”

Lissa Bear chose not to speak for this article but has given permission for the photo to be used.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com

by Susan McNeil

Mom of Humboldt Bronco finds ‘instant connection’ at James Smith

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