It is with great sadness the family of Ricardo Leiva Sr. announce his passing on April 15, 2020 in Vernon, BC at the age of 80. Left to cherish his memory is his loving wife of 56 years, Carmen, his children Marcia Leiva (Oystein Fladmark), Ricardo Leiva (Shannon), twin granddaughters Tatiana and Sophia, sister Carmen Leiva and nephew Javier Leiva, sister Carolina Munoz (Wayne Hagel) and niece Nathalie Cake, grandniece Nina Johnston, and nephew Patrick Milum (Kirsten), and grandnephews Cameron and Kyle Milum. He was the godfather to seven children. Ricardo was predeceased by his mother Aida Leiva.

Ricardo was born on January 1, 1940 in Los Andes, Chile. He was a natural born soccer player who went on to play professional soccer in Chile and shared the practice field with the likes of soccer legend Pele. His life passion was playing soccer and it was the great game which provided him with work advances while living in Chile. He met the love of his life Carmen in Chile and they married in 1964 and had two children who were his shining light. In 1974 he courageously left Chile and immigrated to Prince George, BC, Canada to make a better life for himself and his family. Ricardo was a family man. In Canada, he spent the majority of his working life employed for CN Rail and then for PG Sawmill.

He continued to play soccer in Prince George for Labbats and Croatia and played his last game in the Masters League at the age of 64. He lived in Prince George for 43 years and then moved to Vernon. Ricardo also had a creative side; one of his passions was making and flying beautiful kites. In his early years he led many kite competitions. He also had a strong ability for building things and he passed his time repairing and painting anything that needed TLC. He inherited his mother’s cooking skills; they shared many recipes and he showed his love to everyone by making beautiful food for family and friends. Ricardo was known for his good sense of humour, making everyone laugh and for always giving his loved ones nicknames.

There will be no service held at this time due to the Covid 19 pandemic. Cremation will be done on Friday April 24, 2020 with a very intimate gathering. A celebration of life will be planned a year from now. In lieu of flowers, donations to the BC Cancer Foundation http://www.bccancer.bc.ca/ may be made in Ricardo’s memory.