BIOGRAPHY

(a life work in progress)

Leona was born on May 14, 1949 in South River, a small village in Northern Ontario.  She was a middle child and had three older brothers and three younger sisters.  Her father, Stan, was an avid outdoorsman.  He worked at jobs which focused on this area of his expertise.  Her mother, Maude, took care of the home and the up-bringing of the children.

They lived four miles out of town in a house that stood at the edge of a large field bordered by forest.  Most of their neighbors were farmers who raised livestock (cattle, sheep, horses) and grew field crops such as grain and produce.

Flowing through the Wilson property was the South River and one of three rapids it made as the water cut it's way through the land.  They often went to the river to swim, to fish, to paddle about in the family canoe, and sometimes just to enjoy the solitude.

It was in these rural surroundings and at an early age that Leona developed the close affinity and life-long bond to Nature which is often reflected in her writing.  Her work also explores other themes such as love, family, relationship, death, dying and loss.

Leona's formal education began at S.S. #4, Machar Township.  Two years later this one-room schoolhouse was closed and it's students were bussed to the public school in town.

After elementary school, Leona attended South River-Sundridge High School (renamed Almaguin Highlands Secondary School), then North Bay Teacher's College, Laurentian University, and Nipissing University.

When she graduated from Teacher's College in 1969, Leona was hired by The Sudbury Board of Education (renamed The Rainbow District School Board) and moved to Sudbury, Ontario.  It was here she met and later married her husband - author, poet, emedia artist - Robert L.J. Zenik.

While working as an elementary school teacher Leona presented a variety of workshops for the local school board, for Nipissing University, and for Thomas Nelson Learning (formerly Thomson Nelson Publishers).

She was also an active member of numerous Community, School, Board of Education, and Teacher's Federation committees and served as an Educational Consultant for Professor Beaker's Learning Labs.

In 2001 Leona retired from the teaching profession.  She and her husband are now able to spend more time together travelling, reading and writing.