Jack LAWRENCE

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LAWRENCE: It is with sadness that the family of Jack Bentley Lawrence announces his passing on September 4, 2009, in the Brandon Regional Health Center, with Dennis and Patricia by his side. Jack was born January 15, 1918, the second child of Charles and May (Bentley) Lawrence, on the family farm at Swaffum in the Rural Municipality of Cameron. He was predeceased by his parents, his brothers, Elwood and Wes, and his sisters, Leita (Ferguson) and Mary (Booley), as well as his wife, Louise (Lovatt), and is survived by his children, Dennis and Lynn (Egbert), and Patricia and Larry (Exner), as well as seven grand-children, Abbie, Erin, Judith, and Erika (Lawrence), and Christopher, Taylor, and Madison (Exner), and one great-grandson, Andrew (Lawrence), and many nieces and nephews. In 1928, Jack and his family moved to the Hebron district where they purchased the Kerslake farm. He attended school at Hebron, finishing to the end of Grade 9. Jack worked on his family farm, as well as with other farmers in the area, before going to Sudbury with a group of friends to work in the mines for a short time. In 1941, in Vancouver, he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and, following training in Alberta and Ontario, served as an airplane mechanic in England between 1943 and 1945. He was honourably discharged in 1946. Soon after, he purchased his own farm in the Hayfield district of Oakland Municipality where he farmed until selling the farm late in 1973. He married Louise Mary Lovatt in October 1951, and she became a vital partner in his life and the farm. They expanded their family to include Dennis Keith and Patricia Arlene. Jack was active in the community, curling in Carroll, serving in the United Church in Carroll, and participating in the local school board. He enjoyed playing cards with neighbours and spending time with his family on both the Lawrence and Lovatt sides of the family. In 1973, Jack sold the farm and he and Louise moved to Brandon. He continued to work in Brandon, helping to construct a number of houses as well as setting up farm machinery for one of the Brandon dealers. Later, they moved to a home he constructed in Souris and lived there until 1982 when they decided to retire to Kelowna, BC. They lived there until they planned to return to Brandon in July, 1994. Sadly, his beloved Louise passed away early in June, 1994, days before this move, so Jack returned to Brandon alone and lived in Brandon, with a brief period in Souris, keeping his own home until checking himself into the hospital on August 15, 2009, for only his second hospital stay in his over 91 1Ž2 years. Funeral services for Jack were conducted by his son, Dennis, and attended by many family members and friends at Kowalchuck’s Funeral Home, Souris, Manitoba on September 9, which would have been the 92nd birthday of his wife, Louise. Pallbearers included his son-in-law Larry Exner, grandson Christopher Exner, and nephews Joel Lovatt, Charles Lovatt, Dan Lovatt, and Charles Hutton. Burial was in the Souris and Glenwood Cemetery and included a service by an honour guard from the Souris Legion and the honouring of him by his grandchildren as they placed roses on his casket.

As published in Brandon Sun on Sep 19, 2009