Obituary of Lawrence Victor Paton

It is with great sadness that we announce the peaceful passing of Lawrence Paton on January 4th, 2022 at the age of 76. Memories of his kindness, outgoing spirit, and generosity will be cherished by Terry, his loving wife of 39 years, and by his children Jeffrey, Stacey (Stefan), and Lindsey (Geoffrey). He will be greatly missed by his best friend Ted Vande Graaf, as well as countless cousins, neighbours, and lifelong friends. Lawrence was predeceased by his parents Lillian (nee Scaife) and Victor Paton. Lawrence grew up on the family farm in Baie, St. Paul and spent most of his life there. He loved this community and farmed his family’s land for over 30 years. He also served on boards for the Belcourt Community Club, the Poplar Point Cemetery, and the St. Paul’s Anglican Church. Lawrence served on the board of directors for the Marquette Co-op for over 30 years. He was elected as Secretary and served in this role for the majority of his time with the organization. He took great pride in being part of a team that helped to grow and expand an integral business for the agricultural community. He was a volunteer firefighter with the St. Francis Xavier Fire Department for 37 years. During that time, he worked very hard to achieve his Firefighter Level 1 certificate and was quite proud of this accomplishment. Lawrence loved being a father and his family was his greatest joy. Though he was incredibly hardworking, he also knew how to relax and was always game to crack a beer and sit down for a chat. He was an animal lover, and a lifelong collector, and a garage sale enthusiast. His unique sense of humour will be greatly missed. Lawrence’s warm personality made turning strangers into friends an easy feat - he loved connecting with anyone and everyone wherever he went. Thank you to the staff at Riverview Health Centre for the kind care he received. In accordance with Lawrence’s wishes, cremation has taken place and a private family celebration of life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made in Lawrence’s memory to St Paul’s Anglican Church or the Poplar Point Cemetery as follows: Donations to St. Pauls Cemetery Fund can be made out and forwarded to St. Paul's Cemetery Fund c/o Monica Griffiths Box 30 Poplar Point, MB R0H 0Z0 Donations to Poplar Point Cemetery can be made out and forwarded to: Poplar Point Cemetery c/o Pam Taylor 321 Caithness Street Portage la Prairie, MB R1N 3S5