Mom of late Humboldt Bronco finds ‘instant connection’ at James Smith

By Susan McNeil

Celeste Leray-Leicht lost her son Jacob in the Humboldt Broncos crash in 2018, so she wanted to show some of the support the team felt when she heard about the deaths in James Smith Cree Nation.

She did not expect to find the woman who created a beaded ribbon that had taken a special place in her heart.

“One of the special items that I received was a beaded gold and green ribbon representative of the Bronco colours,” said Leray-Leicht.

It was mailed to her by James Smith artist Lissa Bear, who created the piece.

“I wore that for the longest time then I kind of stopped wearing some of the Broncos stuff because, especially when I went out of Humboldt, I didn’t really want more attention,” Leray-Leicht said.

Instead of wearing it, she keeps it pinned next to a photo of her four children on the inside of the roof of her car, right where she can see it all the time.

The ribbon has a place of honour next to a photo of the Leicht children, including Jacob on the top right, in Celeste Leray-Leicht’s vehicle. (Celeste Leray-Leicht/Submitted)

On Sunday, Leray-Leicht was waiting for a ride after being asked to go to James Smith by Penny Lee and Carol Brons, the mother of Dayna Brons, the Broncos athletic therapist who also died in the collision.

“I looked at that and I pondered putting it on, just because it was beadwork and it was special to me and I decided against it because again, I didn’t want to draw attention to the fact that I was one of the people who lost a son on the Broncos crash,” said Leray-Leicht.

She also opted to go to James Smith because a friend of hers had lost a family member in the recent killings and she wanted to show support. Ten people died in the rampage on the James Smith Cree Nation and in Weldon.

When Leray-Leicht got to James Smith, she was approached by a woman named Lissa Bear who recognized her and revealed that she had beaded the ribbon and sent it.

“I couldn’t believe it and here she lost her own family member as well. We were kindred spirits and instantly we became friends,” said Leray-Leicht.

They sat together for the fish-fry meal that followed.

“It was such an amazing afternoon. I didn’t expect to visit with family members because I didn’t know if they would want strangers coming in,” Leray-Leicht said.

The women visited for quite a while and plan to keep the connection going.

“Just being there reinforced the importance of relationships, really,” Leray-Leicht said.

From the circumstances surrounding her own son’s death, she knew both that people want to give and show support and that when large groups of people gather, there needs to be food.

The Humboldt women brought some donations gathered in Humboldt with them.

Leray-Leicht said she was touched and impressed by the respect shown to the three women from Humboldt by band leadership at a time when the community was suffering from its own tragedy.

Humboldt, in turn, has held a vigil for the victims of the James Smith murders.

“We thought we can do that too. We can pray for our friends just down the road. I think it’s important to show our support,” Leray-Leicht explained.

The two communities are 125 kilometres apart.

For Leray-Leicht, a higher power had a hand in the bond that now exists between the two women.

“I don’t believe in coincidences. Personally, I’m spiritual and God is in the details,” she said. “You can call him the Creator or whatever you want, I think we’re all woven together.”

Bear declined an interview request, but did give permission for the use of the photo that appears above.