ROBERT DAVID LAWRENCE
It
is with heavy hearts that we announce the sudden passing of Robert (Bob)
Lawrence with his family by his side on Thursday, November 22, 2012 at the
Grace Hospital at the age of 78 years.
Left
to cherish Robert’s memory are his children, Jeff, Brad (Lorraine); siblings
Lillian, Rick (Shirley), Doreen, Treina (Stephen); sister-in law Eileen (Fred);
as well as many nieces and nephews. He
was predeceased by the love of his life Marilyn on Valentine’s Day of this
year; and his parents, Edith and David.
Dad
was born and raised in Eriksdale, MB. At
around age 17, he headed west to work in BC. Later he worked in the Whiteshell
and then landed in Winnipeg. Dad met his
wife to be on a blind date. They married
on October 7, 1960, and had two sons who were his pride and joy. One of Dad’s greatest loves was the
outdoors. He was content doing anything
as long as it was outside. On a snowy
day he could be found outside shovelling the walk 4-5 times. His snow free sidewalk and driveway were the
envy of many. Whether he was shovelling,
chopping wood, cutting the lawn or doing any of his many wood working projects,
Dad’s meticulous nature was evident. He
took great pride in whatever he did. No
job was more important than another and no job was beneath him.
Over
the years much time was spent together and many family memories were created at
Lee River, and St. Malo. Dad could often
be found being supervised by Mom while tending the garden or stoking the flames
of a campfire. His philosophy was that
wood was never too green, or too wet as long as you had enough gasoline. Dad was a big sports fan. He had a love / hate relationship with his
Winnipeg teams. It’s hard to know how
many hours dad clocked listening to CJOB following them. Dad was always interested in current affairs,
loved reading National Geographic and solving the daily jumble puzzle in the
Winnipeg Free Press.
Dad
was an understated guy with a very mischievous and playful side. The things that seemed to bring this out most
were candy, gifts and Garfield movies.
He would always strategically place himself nearest the candy dish and
watch out if you were the person sitting next to him for soon you would be
framed for the pile of empty candy wrappers that were to appear. He was a shrewd gift guesser. As soon as you gave Dad a gift, actually you
only needed to tell him there was one for him, he would begin guessing what it
was. It was hilarious to watch as, time
and time again, Brad tried to mask gifts for Dad. Defeat was inevitable and
when it came it always came with Dad’s smirk of victory. He always loved the Garfield movies. Watching these became part of our Christmas
tradition. There were times where we
wanted to hurry through dinner to get to the main event. There was just something about a big fat
talking orange cat that would push Dad to the edge. Dad’s belly laugh was infectious; before you
knew it we were all in tears.
Family
was important to Dad. He enjoyed family
dinners at Brad and Lorraine’s but nothing made him happier than a great meal
followed by a double portion of dessert.
He loved his weekends at the lake, going to fall suppers with Mom and
Jeff, and holiday celebrations with the Lawrence clan.
In
compliance with Dad’s wishes no formal service will be held.
The
family wishes to extend a special thanks to the staff at Charleswood Care
Center who provided care to Dad in his final years.
In
lieu of flowers, if friends so desire, donations may be made to a charity of
their choice.
Wojcik’s
Funeral Chapel in care of arrangements.
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