Beloved Brampton teacher mourned after fatal crash
Students say educator inspired them to succeed, helped them transition in school
A beloved Grade 4/5 teacher at Brampton’s St. John Bosco elementary school is being mourned by current and former students as an inspiration, a mentor and an “unsung hero.”
Leo Abraham, 42, of Caledon, was killed coming home from the Toronto FC game around 1:30 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 30.
He was alone, driving an SUV westbound on Mayfield Rd., when, for unknown reasons, it crossed the centre line and collided head-on with a transport truck, according to the OPP. He was pronounced dead at the scene. As word of his death spread, grief-stricken former students remembered a teacher they say inspired them to succeed, helped them transition from elementary to high school and university, and taught them lifelong lessons they remember to this day.
“We have lost a great educator and more importantly, human being,” wrote former student Steve McColm on Facebook. “Mr. Abraham was by far one of my favourite teachers.”
McColm said Mr. A, as many called him, was his Grade 8 teacher and also coached him on the softball team from Grades 4 to 8. He credited Abraham for steering him in the right direction on more than one occasion.
“He related to us early teenagers in the perfect way that helped us enjoy our learning process,” McColm wrote. “He was an extremely kind and fair man, but would give us the extra push when we needed it.”
Joseph Capote said he stayed in touch with the father of four even after graduating in 2005, and the dedicated educator was more like a close friend to his students than a teacher.
“I’ll never forget the impact he had on me as a student and how he raised my confidence as a kid,” Capote said. “This is someone who loved his job.”
Capote said anyone growing up in Professor’s Lake who went to Bosco will remember Abraham with a smile.
“Mention his name and their face will light up,” he said. “We lost a great one.”
In addition to everything else, Abraham was extremely compassionate, he said.
Former student Kevin Panlilio wrote on Facebook that he was “incredibly shattered and heartbroken” to learn of his death. Abraham was his teacher 10 years ago, but last year, on a day off, Panlilio visited his former teacher and was greeted by a big smile when he told him of his successes in pursuing his dream of working in the film industry, something his former teacher had encouraged him to do. Panlilio recalled Abraham’s “sheer delight” when he heard he was pursuing his dream, and the former student was thrilled when Abraham remembered him by name. Mitch Sthilaire tweeted his appreciation of Abraham, calling him “the type of unsung hero that doesn’t get props until it’s too late.”
Dufferin-Peel District Catholic School Board spokesperson Bruce Campbell said Abraham was extremely popular at the school and that students were being helped by the tragic response team throughout the day. A prayer service was held and the flag at the school is at halfmast.
He had been a teacher since 2000, according to the Ontario College of Teachers website, and began teaching at St. John Bosco in 2002. A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help his wife and four young children.