The CEO of “the Firm” has resigned his chair. If the Toronto Stock Exchange did not observe a minute of silence, they SHOULD have! So too the shareholders in the Tilley Hat Corporation.
Larry spent 65 of his 91 years devoted to his Lucie Luv, Lucie (Bedard) and will be remembered by his son John Owens (Carol) of North Bay and his daughter Helen Logan (Mark, deceased) of Belleville. He was always delighted to be Grandpa to Meghan Ross (Chris) and Michael Owens (Kari); and to be Papa to Ryan Logan, Erin Huycke (Jim), and Anna Logan. In recent years, he was the best “GG-Pa” to Bennett and Eloise Ross and to Andrew Owens.
Growing up in Wigan Lancashire, Larry had quite a story to tell, and many an evening was spent listening to his tall tales. He set off to work in the war effort at the Vulcan Foundry, making Matilda battle tanks and locomotives when he was just 14. He came to Canada on the Aquitania at age 19, with his mom Margaret Owens, his older brother, Ed (Blanche) (deceased), and his little sister, Margaret Kelly (Richard). The family came ashore at Pier 21 in Halifax and then joined his father, Lawrence Owens in Kirkland Lake.
Larry worked 38 years for the ONR. What a wonderful retirement Larry and Lucie then enjoyed; they hammered in each nail themselves to build their Bear Creek home on the south shore of Lake Nipissing. They danced every Saturday night away at the Golden Age Centre until just a few months ago. They travelled extensively in Canada and the U.S. and spent the winter months for two decades in coastal Spain.
Nicknamed “Inspector Gadget” by his grandkids, Larry excelled at turning his crazy ideas into real functioning inventions. This started when he was hired to maintain the go-karts at the Sunnydale Raceway, and his craftsmanship could be seen in his perfectly crafted oak beds and Murphy bed, and in the boathouse and boat hoist he built to house his Bear Creek “yacht”. If not working in his workshop/garage, you could find him absorbed in any book he could get his hands on, from biographies to history, to a good Wilbur Smith novel.
It became hard to keep the machine oiled and operational and Larry got tired of being tired, but he was first to say, “I had a good run!” Thanks to Dr. Ian Cowan for years of attentiveness. Thank you to the VON nurses and ParaMed PSWs, especially Gloria, for helping us to keep him at home. As per his wishes there will be no service or visitation. A celebration of life for Larry will take place at a later date.