* Leslie H. Champion; Retired Banker

Westlake Village resident and retired banker Leslie H. Champion died Friday after a lengthy illness. He was 73.

Champion was born March 5, 1925, in Montreal and served two years in the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II.

Champion moved to Santa Monica in 1957 to live in a warmer, sunnier climate and to start his first banking job at the Bank of America, family members said. That same year, he married a teller who worked at the bank.

In 1971, Champion moved his family to Westlake Village. From late 1957 through 1989, Champion was a vice president and manager of City National Bank in Studio City.

In his free time, he enjoyed golfing and rose gardening, family members said. He tended 40 rose bushes in his backyard and was a lifetime member at Calabasas Country Club.

“It was just something he liked to do in his spare time,” Champion’s daughter, Mona Burnside, said of her father’s gardening.

Champion enjoyed going to the beach and was involved in Rotary clubs in Santa Monica and Studio City.

Champion was preceded in death by his parents, James and Mona Champion. Champion’s older brother, Dudley Champion, was in the Canadian Air Force during WWII and was declared missing in action, the family said.

Champion is survived by his wife, Aspasia Champion of Westlake Village; two sons, George Champion of Hollywood and Dudley Champion of Woodland Hills; his daughter, Mona Burnside of San Diego; a twin brother, Ross Champion of Montreal; and two grandchildren.

Services will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Mortuary in Westlake Village.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the American Cancer Society in Champion’s name.