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My forty-year love affair with (former Bowen fire chief) Lawrie Lock

Editor’s note: this article is adapted from Lynda Lock’s essay on her personal blog. With her consent, it’s been edited for length.
Lawrie Lock
Then assistant fire chief Lloyd Harding and Lawrie Lock serving on Bowen in 1985. Submitted: Lynda Lock

Editor’s note: this article is adapted from Lynda Lock’s essay on her personal blog. With her consent, it’s been edited for length. 

Note from Lynda: When I first wrote this article Lawrie was still alive although struggling with the rapid progression of his disease. Lawrie left us on Sept. 3

Paradise is normally considered to be a place. 

For me paradise is a person; my husband, adventure partner, world-traveler, lover and best friend – Lawrie Lock. 

While I plan this article in my mind I am in our swimming pool on Isla Mujeres, Mexico looking back at Lawrie sleeping in our recently built main-floor bedroom.

He is in the final stages of rapid onset ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease, a horrific sickness that appeared in his body in late 2017.

Lawrie is resting in a hospital-style electrically adjustable bed. This man who has had a plethora of careers is almost helpless. His ability to speak is rapidly diminishing though his mind is still active and sharp. His damn body just won’t listen to his brain.

Born John Lawrie Lock March 3, 1942, in Winnipeg, my husband has lived most of his life in B.C.

Some will remember him as a car-guy, a man obsessed with classic cars especially temperamental British vehicles like Aston Martins, Austin-Healeys, Jaguars,Bentleys, and Triumphs. Others will think of him as a dedicated volunteer fire-fighter and ambulance attendant serving for seventeen years on Bowen Island. 

Moving to Bowen Island in 1974 with his first wife Pat and young son John, he was the Chevron Oil agent and gas station operator on Bowen Island. 

When we got together in early 1980 he immediately thought up a fistful of new businesses for us to start.

Under the name of Snug Cove Enterprises we jointly owned Rusty Duck Antiques, Howe Sound Freight, and a mini storage. Glen Wolfe operated his vehicle repair service on our rental property near the fire hall.

Lawrie was fire chief on Bowen for the last six years before we moved into Vancouver. He was also the area representative for the Greater Vancouver Regional District in the mid-‘70s, and chamber of commerce president for several terms.

I joined the Bowen Island Fire Department in 1980 as the first female firefighter. As a long serving member of the department, no one was going to argue with Lawrie about my inclusion as a firefighter!

We also held the GVRD contracts for municipal garbage collection as well as the contract for Crippen Regional Park maintenance and development. 

He and I and one other employee (plus John during his summer holidays) hauled garbage cans for eight years on Bowen. 

One thousand stops every single Monday for eight years. Sun rain, sleet or snow! 

Lawrie was also project manager for the then-brand-new Bowen Island elementary school.

In Vancouver, while I was the supervisor at the SkyTrain control centre, Lawrie and I decided to sell off our various Bowen Island companies.

He then tried his first stint at retirement. 

His retirement lasted exactly 26 days before he was bored silly and driving me nuts.

He then hired on with Air Limo driving a huge grey limousine. 

From Vancouver we moved in 1992 to the Okanagan Valley.

While we lived in the Okanagan region we started the Castle Rock Bed and Breakfast, serving huge breakfasts. Lawrie was the master chef. I was the clumsy forgetful waitress; the comic relief. 

When his sister and brother-in-law moved to the Okanagan Valley in 1994 the four of us created the Tin Whistle Brewing Company, making British-style ales. 

Along with Lawrie we enlisted son John and nephew Jim Stansfield to be the sales reps for our products. Richard, Linda, Lawrie and I did whatever else needed doing: book keeping, brewing, bottling, store sales, marketing, cleaning, ordering, beer festivals, liquor store tastings, and, and, and.... We even had their 80-year-old parents hand gluing neck labels on the bottles. 

We eventually realized that owning a micro-brewery was an intense learning experience, with tons of hard physical work.  We physically moved, carried, and shifted many metric tonnes of grain and bottles and kegs!  We, the four partners Lawrie, Richard, Linda and I, were in our late-forties and mid-fifties. What the heck we were thinking? 

We finally got smart and sold the company in 1998 to its present owner. 

Still not able to cope with retirement Lawrie’s next career was managing restaurants in the Pencticton area. First it was Villa Rosa, then he was hired away to manage Magnum’s on the Lake, and finally he was hired as the general manager for Hillside Estate Winery and The Bistro on the now-famous wine district of the Naramata Bench. 

Lawrie’s last job was in 2008. He was the operations director for the condo-hotel development the Skaha Beach Club that was proposed for the southern end of Penticton. Then the economic crisis hit the U.S. and funding dried up for projects world-wide. 
At the time we were in Mexico enjoying a three months sabbatical from our jobs in Canada, trying out life at our new casa on the beach. 

Lawrie got a phone call from his boss who was also a good friend. 

“Don’t rush back to Canada.” The man said, “My project is dead. Enjoy yourself and come back when you are ready.”

We shrugged, we weren’t concerned. He was 67, I was 58. We were debt free.

We returned to Canada on March 10, leaving a warm and sunny country, arriving to knee-deep snow.

Lawrie looked at me and said, “Why are we doing this?”

“I don’t know!” I replied with a big grin.

And here we are. 

We have strong loving families and deep supportive friendships that will sustain me despite the large black hole this man’s eventual passing will leave in my universe.

We have loved deeply and lived an amazing adventure.  I’m not ready for it to be over, but his body says otherwise. He is slipping away a little more each day.

I will love this man until my last breath. 

Lynda’s blog is lynda-notesfromparadise.blogspot.com.