December 6, 1999
(Justice)

The following statement was issued today by Paul Dicks, Minister of Justice. It was also read in the House of Assembly:

It is with regret that I rise today to pay tribute to Mr. Leslie Russell Thoms, the province's high sheriff and the former MHA for Grand Bank, who passed away December 5 at the age of 61.

Mr. Thoms, or Les, as people knew him, served the public of Newfoundland and Labrador throughout his career.

Born in Garnish on March 7, 1938, Mr. Thoms taught at St. Chad's in Bonavista Bay in 1953-1954 and Gander Collegiate in 1956-1957. He then returned to university and graduated from Memorial with a B.A. and B.A. (Ed) in 1962 and Dalhousie Law School in 1965.

After graduation from Dalhousie, Mr. Thoms practiced law in St. John's becoming the senior partner in the firm of Thoms, Fowler, Rowe and Barry.

In 1979, Mr. Thoms was elected to the House of Assembly as the Liberal Member for Grand Bank where he acted as Justice critic. He was also on several committees, including the House of Assembly's Select Committee for the adoption of a new provincial flag and the Select Committee on Resource Development. In 1982, he returned to private practice until 1984 when he joined the Department of Justice as a Senior Solicitor.

On March 22, 1988, he was appointed High Sheriff of Newfoundland, an office that is responsible for implementing orders and judgements of the Supreme Court, processing the execution of judgements, assisting the court in service of process and administration of the jury system. The office has, more recently, assumed responsibility for court security.

Mr. Thoms was also an active member of the community. He is a former director of the John Howard Society and was a member of Memorial University's Board of Regents. He is also a former president of the Newfoundland Branch of the Canadian Red Cross. More recently, he was active with both the Celtic Minor and Junior Hockey Associations.

Mr. Thoms spent most of his working life involved in serving the public of Newfoundland and Labrador. As a lawyer in private practice, as an elected official and as a government solicitor and high sheriff, Les dedicated himself to the administration of justice in the province. He will be missed by all in the department and his memory will serve as an excellent example for his successor to follow.

I would like to take this opportunity to ask all members of the House to join with government and the Department of Justice in expressing sincere condolences to Mr. Thoms' wife Andree and his four children, Michelle, Stefan, Marc, and Eric.

1999 12 06 2:15 p.m.