Obituary of Anthony (Tony) Carson Lea

Anthony (Tony) Carson Lea, born February 20, 1947, passed away suddenly in Toronto on November 24, 2022 following a two-year illness.

Born in Toronto to Edgar and Adrienne (née Adams) Lea was predeceased by his first wife Barbara (née Currie) Lea and sister Frances Trigg (Brian). He will be deeply missed by his wife Joanne, his son John (Alayna); his grandchildren William and Victoria; his brothers Ted (Barbara) and Don (Kathy) and sister Pat; his nieces and nephews, and everyone in the extended Lea, Currie, and Tofani/Proos families.

In his youth Tony was a Queen's scout and became an avid hunter, fisher, and all-around outdoorsman. After graduating high school at Oakwood Collegiate he obtained his BA (Trinity College), MA, and PhD in Geography from the University of Toronto. At the same time, he was camp director of Bayview Glen Camp and, after Bayview Glen's founder died, he led the school and camp in a variety of roles as Chairman of the Board of the L. Doreen Hopkins foundation and Bayview Glen school from 1980-1990. While obtaining his graduate degrees and thereafter he taught Geography at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, The University of Minnesota, Queen’s University, The University of Toronto, and Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson).

For over four decades Tony was an international leader in research methods relating to location and segmentation. He was recognized globally as the creator of dozens of advanced methodologies widely used by hundreds of research organizations both academic and commercial. As the Chief Methodologist at both Compusearch and Environics Analytics (where he was also a founder) he led and mentored young men and women in those companies and, many others across a wide range of industries, to be data-driven. He was known for his brilliance, dedication, loyalty, and good humor. Along with leading those two organizations, he continued his academic pursuits throughout his career - researching, speaking, teaching, and mentoring at U of T, TMU, and other colleges and universities. His entire academic and professional family feels his loss profoundly and appreciates his lessons, contributions, and all the time they had with him.

The family wishes to extend their thanks for the thoughtful care provided to Tony by Dr. David Cheah, Dr. Carole Cohen and David MacFarlane, the staff at Revera Leaside, and his dedicated caregivers, Mimie, Maria, Elaine, Rowena and Cynthia.

The family will receive friends at the Humphrey Funeral Home A.W. Miles – Newbigging Chapel, 1403 Bayview Avenue (at Davisville) on Friday, December 2 from 1-2 p.m. followed by a funeral service at
2 p.m. in the chapel (followed by a reception). Condolences may be forwarded through www.humphreymiles.com.

Tony will be remembered for the twinkle in his eye, the never-ending stories he told and his many great adventures.

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