In Loving Memory of
Laurence (Larry) Irwin Tarrant
of Grande Prairie, Alberta
May 30, 1926 - January 11, 2021
So today January 11th, 2021 I left this crazy mixed up world and my comfortable place at the Grande Prairie Care Center for my next adventure.
I gotta tell you, I sure am excited to go see what God has in store for me now.
Come to think of it, all my life I was trying to get enough experience so that I’d be prepared to do whatever was needed of me. I guess even this last bit with Alzheimer’s has taught me something.
You know, I was born on May 30th, 1926 in St. Boniface, Manitoba so I have 94 years under my belt and that gives a guy a decent amount of education, experience and skill, even if I only finished school in 6th grade.
Who knows, maybe up there God needs a scrapyard.... I started dragging scrap iron out of the quarry and selling it at an early age.
I’m not sure if I’ll be working on a dairy farm milking cows, hauling any more dynamite on a barge, using an axe to fell some more old growth trees in between the houses of a fishing village, or using the pick and shovel to tunnel under any rail yards like the one in Winnipeg, but I’ve done that stuff before.
If he needs any houses moved, I’ll be the guy. I did a lot of that even after I got to Grande Prairie in the early 1950s. I just hope there aren’t any narrow bridges to cross so we don’t have to drive with one side of the truck on the bridge beam again.
Speaking of hauling stuff, I’ve hauled a ton of stuff. I hauled logs by my team Blue & Babe, coal, gravel, mud and golf balls, ya golf balls for the rigs, all with the trucks I had.
It was those trucks that got me into the NorthStar Service Station and selling gas....you see I needed the heated garage and well, buying gas at cost for my trucks was ok too.
I hope I don’t need to haul any hay bales. The last time I did that we piled them on the truck too high and took out all the phone lines that crossed overhead on the road!
You know, in that garage we changed so many tires that my brothers and I started up a tire shop just down the road from that new Texaco Station I moved over to on the north side of Grande Prairie. Too bad that boiler fire in ‘60s put an end to it. It was a real going concern.
I wonder if God needs a driver up there? I really loved driving that old Packard. You could haul a lot of people to dances with those sweeping fenders and long running boards. Then again maybe that Monarch would do the trick. If he needed speed I’d have no problem driving it, just like the time I blew through that speed trap in Saskatchewan going to Manitoba. Those cops never did catch me. Oh well, it won’t matter what it is, I’ll be able to drive it.
Maybe there’s a need for a store that sells everything, like the one I had. Maybe you heard of it, Tarrant’s South Peace Surplus? I sold a great variety of stock. There was Army surplus goods, furniture, clothes, appliances, guns and ammo, used vehicles, new Polaris snowmobiles, you name it I had it in there! I even got an airplane kit one time, and that go me so interested in flying that I got my pilots license and bought my own plane, a Taylorcraft.
There’s so much more that I can add to this list but I guess it will all be written down in his big book.
God knows what I’ve done.
I’m going to miss visiting all of my family like I did on my cross Canada travel adventures in the motorhome, and handing out bibles to everyone, but I’ll be watching out for all of you. I love you all so much.
Well guess I gotta say goodbye now, so I’ll start with my kids.
What a bunch they are!
You know I could go on an on about all of them because I am so proud of them. They’re all strong and independent. They like to move around, and are a bit stubborn just like their old man, but they’ve all got kind and loving hearts too.
I guess I should give their moms some credit too because I sure didn’t do things by myself.
I’ll just tell you who they are:
Daughter Colleen Tarrant (Frank) and her family:
Grandson Bill (Susan) Given,
Great Grandchildren Mila, Paja
Grandson Robert (Jessica) Mensinger
Great granddaughter Madison
Granddaughter Tammy Mensinger
Great Grandchildren Carter, Teagan
Daughter Nola Grant (Marc)
Daughter Fran Tarrant and her family:
Granddaughter Christine (Laine) Ingalls
Great Grandchildren Saphira, Malachi, Arayis, Ezeriah, Persethanie, Amari
Son Rick (Audrey) Turnbull, and his family:
Grandchildren Karly, Tiegan, Chainie, Kody(Mandy)
Great Grandchildren George, Gideon, Caleb & Levi.
Son Jason (Christina) Tarrant
Kids, (well I guess you’re not kids anymore, are you?) I hope you’ll be as happy as you have made me, and that you’ll be as loved as I have loved you. Remember I’ll be watching over you.
To my sister Dorothy Allison and sister-in-law Margaret Tarrant
I’ll look for you when you get here, but only come when you’re ready.
To all of my many nephews and nieces and their families, I hope you know how much you were loved.
To my special friends whom I had some great times with: Keith & Joyce Sefton, Stew & June Bowman, Vern Danielson, and my “adopted sister”Pat Olsen, thanks for being there.
I’m looking forward to once again seeing:
My Dad (Stanley Mortimer Tarrant). I have a lot of questions about those powders that you used to mix when you were the druggist in Mulvahill. I’ll bet you’ll be surprised with what they can cure now.
My Mom (Dorothy (Brown) Tarrant) I sure hope there’s a piano up there so I could here you play and sing “How Great Thou Art” one more time, like you used to in Gunton. If they have a harmonica I might even play along.
My Brothers: Rex & John Coupland, Ken, Stan, Bruce, Charlie & Reg Tarrant,My Brother-in-Law: Howie Allison, and my Sisters-in-Law: Gwen, Ruth, Edna, Mary, Edith, & Gwen. I sure do hope I’ll get into another curling game, have a couple of games of pool and maybe even go out for a round of golf (and ya, I’d still go scrounging in the bush for golf balls) with you up there.
Maybe they’ll have a cold Pacifico Beer like in Mazatlán, Mexico waiting for me there.
PS. Don’t go spending a bunch of money on a funeral or service and stuff, you know that’s not what I want.
Another PS. I just want to thank all of you at the Grande Prairie Care Center for looking after me so well these past few years, and the same goes for all of you at Pioneer Lodge. I loved you all and prayed for you too. Bless you all.
Remember what I said. “Once my spirit has left my body I’ve gone to heaven to be with God. You’ll have the memories from the times we shared, and read those bibles I gave you!
Don’t forget about the Alzheimer Society if you want to make a donation. (102, 9823 116 Ave., Grande Prairie, AB, T8V 4B4, https://alzheimer.ca/ab/en).
I’m going to go see about that beer now.
