Obituary of Mr. Leyland Muss
Nov. 19, 1939 – Oct. 20, 2023
Leyland was born the only son of the late John Muss & Winifred (Hackett) Muss in Georgetown, Guyana. He leaves behind Joan, his wife of 61 years, daughter Deborah, son John & son Christopher (deceased).
Leyland attended Queen's College, Guyana from 1950 to 1957. He was a member of Weston "F" House. While at QC he won the 200 yard Open Sprint, played soccer and represented his House in cricket. His classmates include QCAA Toronto members David Singh & Joe Permaul. Leyland was a founding member of QCAA Toronto (1991), founding member of International Committee of Queen's College (ICQC; 1993), a Past President of QCAA Toronto (1993-94) and Past Recording Secretary of ICQC.
Leyland worked at many companies in Guyana including Booker Shipping Sugar Terminals, Pan American Airlines and Guyana Graphic Newspaper. At the Demerara Tobacco Co. he was the Human Resources Manager before being seconded to the British American Tobacco Co. in the U.K. as Assistant Human Resources Manager responsible for Central and Latin America, the Caribbean and South America. In 1977 he immigrated to Canada and worked in Human Resources at Loblaws, Consumers Distributing & later advancing to Vice President Human Resources at Scott’s Foods. Eventually, he opened his own H.R. Consulting Firm, L.A. Muss & Associates, where he provided services to start up, small & medium sized companies in Retail, Financial, Healthcare & Mining.
While in the U.K. Leyland was a participant in the Management Training Program at the Administrative Staff College at Henley England and later received the Certificate in Personnel and Labour Relations and the Diploma in the Advanced Program in Human Resources Management from the University of Toronto. He served on the Council of Human Resources Executives of the Conference Board of Canada, the International Society for Strategic Management & Planning and the Business Consortium Committee on Employment Equity. During his H.R. Chapter membership career he was Co-Chair, General Topics Group, chaired both the Mentor Program and the Recognition and Awards Committees and provided ongoing advice to several up-and-coming Human Resources professionals. In 2017 he was awarded the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award by the Human Resources Professional Association (Durham Chapter) in recognition of his demonstrated excellence in leadership and contribution to the human resources profession.
Leyland’s community involvement included President Jaycees South Georgetown, President Kaiteur Lions Club and District Zone Chairman, Toronto. He was also the recipient of three International President’s Award in recognition of Exemplary Humanitarian Services, Leadership Development and International Relations. At Kennedy House Youth Services Leyland held positions as Chairman of the Board and is a member of the Governance Committee of the Board. Kennedy House is a not-for-profit organization that is committed to providing care & treatment to at-risk youth referred to by agencies such as Children’s Aid Societies and the Criminal Justice System.
Leyland was elected District Deputy Grand Master, Grand Lodge of Canada in the Province of Ontario in 2010 responsible for 21 lodges in the Toronto East District, contributed to the Deputy Chairman Grand Lodge Leadership Development Committee & in 2013 was appointed to the Board of General Purposes as Brother to Brother team leader. In 2015 Leyland was asked to research, develop & make recommendations to Grand Lodge & was appointed by the Grand Master to his Ad Hoc Committee to make recommendations on restructuring the Board of General Purposes.
Viewing will be held at Ogden Funeral Homes (4164 Sheppard Ave. E., Scarborough) on Sun. Oct. 29th from 5-8pm. Funeral services will be held at St. Timothy’s Anglican Church (4125 Sheppard Ave. E., Scarborough) on Mon. Oct. 30th at 11am with a reception to follow. A Gift in Memory can be made to the Scarborough Health Network Foundation in leu of flowers.
