August 28,1914 - August 4, 2018

Professor Leo Zawadowski passed away peacefully on Aug 4 2018, in his 104th year. Predeceased by his beloved wife Yvonne (Iwona) of 75 years, and his siblings Irene (Ira) and Viktoria, he will be missed by his sons, Raphael, Peter and Andrew (Iris) and by his grandchildren Jane, Paul (Jenna), Greg (Jeni), Michael (Jessie), George (Jessica) and Stephen (Alana) and by his many great-grandchildren.

Prof. Zawadowski was born in St. Petersburg, Imperial Russia, to a Polish family. He lived through WW1 and after the 1917 revolution in Russia, the entire family was repatriated to a newly independent Poland.

He pursued a linguistic education until WW2 broke out in 1939. He taught in underground education during the German occupation of Poland, where he met his future wife Iwona. After the war he joined the faculty of University of Wroclaw where he taught linguistics, romance languages and classical philology. He became the head of two departments and was awarded the highest academic rank - that of Full Professor.

Over his academic career he was one of the most respected linguists in Europe and beyond. He was a prolific writer, publishing many important manuscripts. In 1975 he published his seminal work, "Inductive Semantics and Syntax". He received numerous grants from the French Government to do research in France, where he worked and lived intermittently in Paris, before accepting a teaching appointment at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.

In 1971 Prof. Zawadowski accepted a position as the Chair of the Department of Languages at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario where he lived and worked until he retired and moved to Oakville.

While retired from the university, Professor Zawadowski continued to be academically active. Together with John Stone, David Dooley and John Shea he created the organization, "Society for Catholic Life and Culture" to support grass roots Catholic apostolic initiatives (https://www.catholicculture.ca/about/).

He spoke several languages including a rare skill of "speaking" ancient Greek. He loved Latin and could sing the entire order of the Holy Mass in Latin and could quote long passages from the Holy Bible and recite from memory passages from classic works in Latin (Cicero, Horace) and Greek (Homer).

He taught himself Sanskrit to help study the Indo-European languages. A gifted storyteller to his children and students, he loved to teach. Still remembered by his many students in Wroclaw, he enjoyed their respect and love for many years after he left the university.

In 2014, to honour his 100th year, the Polish National Academy of Sciences (PAN) held a symposium devoted entirely to his academic work.

Leo was an avid equestrian, who idolised the rugged Canadian life of years passed. He was a courageous man who loved his family. He will be sadly missed but his memory will live on in his family, and the academic community. A great man has passed.