Community and business leaders are mourning the passing of Patrick Lawlor.
Lawlor was the founder of Lawlor Goldsmith Shoppe in Ladner Village.
“It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of my father, Patrick Lawlor,” wrote daughter Janice in a post shared widely on social media Monday afternoon. “My dad touched everyone that came across his path in one way or another. He was a father, grandfather (Bumpa Sr.), and great grandfather as well as the founder of our little Jewelry store. He always left laughter and fond memories in his wake. He will be deeply missed by all.”
Lawlor got involved in the jewelry business in 1947 when he was just 14.
Originally from Montreal, he lived in Ladner for more than 30 years, running his ‘community orientated’ Lawlor Jewelry retail store here from 1989 to 2009.
When he retired he still came into the store to wish customers well and thank them for their support.
In a 2013 interview with the Optimist, Lawlor recalled how he got his start in the business.
“Knocking on doors, looking for a job,” he said. “It just happened to be an elevated gentleman asking what I was doing in a building on 47 McGill Street in Montreal. He sent me to a little Jewish boy on the fourth floor and I stayed with the family pretty well right through a lifetime. But I moved on to a manufacturer's agent in 1955. Which I travelled from Newfoundland, Montreal ... I've been to every little community, from Newfoundland to Thompson, Manitoba, you name it... I did 95 per cent of it by car. I was doing about 100,000 miles a year. Any town with 1,500 people or more, which had a watchmaker, I called on them.”
He called his years in Ladner fabulous.
“It's the nicest community I've experienced across the country. There's no place like Ladner. And the people, and the community,” he said.
According to the family, a service will be held in mid-September in Ladner Village.
