Anthony "Tony" Roland Leveille

Anthony Roland Leveille (Tony) died on October 22, 2022. He was at home, with a sweeping view of the Lamoille Valley, a place he adored. His life was a flame that burned strong and bright that, together with his lifelong partner Ella, forged the character of sons and cast a warm light on family and friends. It was extinguished far too soon. He is survived by Ella; sons Conor and Cole (Bailey, and soon to be granddaughter Ellie), brother Richard (Janice) and sister Laura (Phil). 

Tony was the youngest (b. 1960) of three children born to Dick and Fran Leveille in Ely, Nevada. The family grew up wherever Dick’s employer, Kennecott, had a mine or an office. They made annual long-distance pilgrimages in a succession of station wagons to visit relatives in whatever part of the country they weren’t currently living, learning geography, history, culture and road-songs on the way.  

Tony was the daredevil of the family. He rode a Harley, went to Alaska, fought forest fires, was a working cowboy and a saddle bronc rider. Whatever Tony did, he did well or didn’t bother. Over the course of his life, he mastered welding, blacksmithing, horse packing, hunting, fishing and, perhaps most importantly, husbanding, fathering and friendship.  

Incisive, clever, and quick-witted, he was also the family comedian. He’d have you laughing at your own foibles before you knew what hit you. And he seemed to have a joke in his back pocket for every occasion, usually told with the precise accent of the protagonists. 

On the other hand, Tony didn’t suffer fools or slackers. He was a hard worker and appreciated hard work in others. He left otherwise good jobs because he chaffed under the yoke of incompetence and sloth of both management and unions. For the last decade he worked independently or for the Forest Service. For the latter, he did mostly back- and front-country jobs with a few coworkers of similar character (including Ella), which suited him just fine, except when he had to deal with front-country bureaucracy! 

His Catholic faith was deep; he treasured family, friends, and tradition. He treasured the west especially Nevada, and it was usually a safe bet he was either walking or riding around in the Rubys or the Jarbidge. When he rode off into the sunset he left a huge Tony-shaped hole in our hearts, and we will sorely miss his bright eyes, big smile and even bigger moustache. But he’s still riding out there somewhere, probably on one of the smooth traveling Morgan horses he loved, trotting through belly deep grass headed to look over the next ridge. Long may he ride! 

A rosary for Anthony will be held at St. Joseph’s on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 10:30 a.m., followed by a Mass at 11:00, and there will be a wake at the Basque Clubhouse directly after mass. In lieu of flowers or donations, next time you find yourself out in the hills and come across a piece of litter, it would make Tony smile if you were to pack it out for him. 

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