By Cecilia Nasmith/Today’s Northumberland
Long-time Port Hope Councillor and 2023 Outstanding Citizen of the Year Jeff Lees has died suddenly at the age of 62.
His “best friend forever” Karen O’Hara shared highlights from the life-long Port Hope resident, who became the youngest member of council ever elected when he won the seat at age 32. He walked into the chambers with long hair, a goatee and a beard, she recalls, and probably neither he nor the council quite knew what to think.
O’Hara said he was inspired to run when he heard that the council of the day had turned down the opportunity to host a Coca-Cola plant, supposedly because they felt they had enough industry at the time.
“That’s what motivated him to get on council – to get industry here and make sure, when the kids graduated, there was a reason for them to stay in Port Hope,” she recalled.
“They turned down that opportunity, and he said, ‘I’m going to make that right.’ That was his motivation.
“He was a champion for the water plant, the Jack Burger expansion, the town park building and the fall fair building.”
Lees would serve on council a full quarter-century, including a term as deputy mayor, before losing the mayoral race by 177 votes in 2022.
Along with his Outstanding Citizen honour, O’Hara recalls that Lees also received a Paul Harris Award from the Northumberland Sunrise Rotary Club.
He was a Big Brother for decades, a member of the Port Hope Kinsmen Club for decades and also a member of Port Hope Legion. He was a devoted hockey coach, enthusiastic baseball player and long-time member of the Port Hope Fair Board.
And there’s another long-time contribution he made to the community that not many are aware of, she added.
Lees took a pyrotechnic course that qualified him to be the one authorized to set off the Canada Day fireworks. He would have to take time off work to set everything up at the waterfront and be ready for the big day, and then he’d go back the day after and clean up properly.
He also did the occasional fireworks shows elsewhere, such as at Trinity College School, she added.
Lees worked hard at local factories to support his family, and that was another passion for him.
His parents were both from Port Hope – his father Bob Lees married his mother Irene, whose maiden name was Lee. Not much of his family were left, except for an uncle for whom he recently hosted a surprise 80th-birthday party.
A true-blue Boston Bruins fan to the core, he was pleased that his son Garnet followed suit – though this past summer the young man married a Leafs fan.
He also personally escorted O’Hara down the aisle four years ago – or rather, down the path, as it was an outdoors wedding.
Lees would call her several times a week on his way home from work just to see what was going on. Their first plan for the new year was to score tickets to an AC/DC tribute-band concert, since neither his wife Laurie nor her husband Danny wanted to go.
“He liked to hold church at a local cafe Sunday mornings,” O’Hara related, though she was surprised to drive past his house Sunday and see his car in the driveway – she figured he’d probably put in a late Saturday night tending bar at the Lions Club.
“It was his heart that gave up, and he had a big one,” she stated.
“Jeff always wore his heart on his sleeve. He knew exactly where he was coming from, he always knew exactly what he would do. It was crystal-clear when he needed to make a decision, especially on council.
“He was a legend in Port Hope.”
