A Tribute to My Brother, by Doug Sinclair

First of all, let me extend a warm and sincere thank you to all of you who are here today to celebrate Lawrence’s life.   On behalf of the Sinclair family, I would like to especially thank the Chiarella family for their tremendous warmth and energy during the difficult days of these last few weeks.

You have heard already about Lawrence’s many qualities, but I am here today to take you all the way back to his days as a little boy to let you know that these qualities of determination and fearlessness were present even then.

Parents always are excited when their children begin to speak, and usually the first words are Mama or Dada.  Lawrence, of course was different.   Child rearing in the 1950’s was very different that it is today.   Many of the “routine practices” would not be acceptable now – but I am sure that many of the older parents here could relate to this.

Because Lawrence was such a busy, curious young boy, my mother used to “restrain” him in the backyard with a “harness” so that he would not wander at will, so she would be able to keep an eye on the other brothers.   So Lawrence’s first words were not “Mama” or “Dada”, but were “ no wope [rope] Mummy, no wope [rope]   Once the restraints were released, Lawrence was off on his life adventure.

You have heard about Lawrence’s skills as an engineer- even as a young boy, he was curious and always conducting “experiments”.   I remember the time we encouraged him to stick his finger in the spokes of a spinning bicycle wheel – which of course he did without hesitation.   That prompted a trip to the Joesph Brant Emergency Dept.   We found out later that the doctor who put in the sutures, was actually working without a medical license!

When I was in university, we needed some help with set design for a play.  Lawrence was there to assist .  He found a number of old pipes that we had at home, and before I knew it, he had welded together a “structure” that was the perfect backdrop for the play.  And of course, it was done for a low cost.

My sister Lianne remembers that when she was a first year engineering student at McMaster, Lawrence used to drive her to the library faithfully.  He wanted  to make sure that she was studying hard in the right environment.  Guilianna and Patrick – does this sound familiar?

My brother Brad remembers an incident at Southampton in the famous blue mustang.   They had had a few “beverages” and Lawrence was at the wheel when the OPP pulled them over.   The policeman told Brad to drive, since he was the most sober [ times have certainly changed!] so he got in the driver’s seat.  There was only one problem – he had never driven a standard shift before.  So they drove off, with Lawrence operating the stick shift and telling Brad when to push in the clutch!

My children have many fond memories of Lawrence, usually related to trips we took to Ontario when the girls were young and our two family ski trips to Mont Tremblant.  Caitlin remembers being very nervous when she visited, because Uncle Lawrence would tickle her, no matter how loudly she protested.   We also remember a time in Southampton, when as we looked out the front window, Lawrence rushed by, holding Cait by the ankles- and she had a look of shear terror on her face!

My other daughter Anna was able to ski, but only in a straight line.  Uncle Lawrence taught her to turn, by skiing backwards down the hill, and within a day, she had mastered the technique.   Good thing, since whenever I ski backwards, it usually means that I am just about to fall!

James remembers taking a wrong turn at Tremblant and heading down a black diamond run at age 5.    Lawrence chased him down the hill to make sure he was OK.   Another skier asked if there was a problem.  Lawrence said that everything was OK, except for the terrified father at the top of the run.

As you have heard, Lawrence never wanted to bother anyone with his health issues.   Again at Tremblant, we remember a “pine nut incident” that occurred of course at the summit restaurant.   Lawrence told us that he would ski down to the bottom of the hill and take care of it.   We were concerned and offered to go with him – but he said it would be faster and more efficient if he went alone. 

You have also heard, how Lawrence was always looking for new adventures and showing others how to enjoy themselves.   At the end of a long day skiing, Lawrence said to me – lets have some fun, and he took me [ a blue run skier] down a narrow, rock filled black diamond run.  At the bottom, he looked back, with that famous half grin and said – wasn’t that fun?  I was not sure, but glad that I did it.

This week, one of my colleagues, a cancer survivor herself gave me a heartfelt sympathy card, which I will read, because it captures my relationship with my “little brother”

“Brothers have special relationships- they help each other through tough situations.  Lawrence was fortunate to have your support through the past few years in particular.  You will, no doubt draw on his example of courage and determination as you face tough challenges in the future.  His gift to you.”

Actually- his gift to all of us.

Advertisement