We created an online memorial to celebrate the life of Larry Davidson. Collecting your stories and memories here will offer us great comfort. Thank you for contributing to this lasting memorial.
Larry was born Thomas Andrew Lawrence Davidson on March 23, 1929, in east Montreal to James and Grace Davidson.
He was the (youngest, middle, oldest?) of 5 children, with brothers Kevin, and sisters Beulah and Grace.
Growing up he loved to ski in the Laurentians. When he was older, each winter Larry and his friends would rent a house for the entire ski season at St. Sauveur a ski resort north of Montreal.
Insert picture of young Larry
Following in his father's footsteps, Larry began his career at McColl Frontenac (which later became Texaco) oil refinery in east Montreal.
When Texaco announced the opening of the Edmonton refinery in 1951, Larry accepted a position and moved out west. He went on to become an Instrumentation Foreman and Fire Chief at the plant. This required him to take down south to Texas to take Fire Training at Texas A&M.
Larry worked at the Texaco plant from its opening in 1951 until it closed in 1984. Over his almost 40 year career with the company, Larry showed a commitment and dedication that was hard to miss. In fact, you could count the days he missed on one hand!
Through Texaco, Larry met Barbara Riddlesworth when she also transferred from Montreal to the Edmonton Texaco plant. Larry was asked to show her around Edmonton as they were both from Montreal, and the rest is history.
Wedding pic
Larry and Barbara were married on August 1, 1952.
Three children soon followed. Daughters Janet and Marjorie, and a son, Bill.
Pic of the kids
In 1955, Larry and Barb put down roots and bought a home in Fulton Place in 1955. They continued to call it home for the next 40 years.
Fulton Place was the perfect place for Larry and Barb to raise their family. The neighbours were great and the neighbourhood represented the ideals of any late 50s nuclear family, including the obligatory dog and cat. In Larry and Barb's home, every pet name had to end with a "Y". Over the years, they had Teddy, Spotty, Dusty, Punchy, and Judy.
DAVIDSON FAMILY PIC, HOPEFULLY IN FRONT OF FULTON PLACE HOME
Larry loved his cars. It was hard to keep track of the number of cars he bought and sold over the years. A talented home mechanic, Larry could fix absolutely everything, including tune-ups, brakes, transmission, bodywork; even a complete engine rebuild! Larry particularly loved Oldsmobiles and big engines with 4 barrel carburetors - gas was a lot cheaper then.
As much as Larry loved working on his cars, he also loved to drive them. He could have been a long-haul trucker because he could drive forever and never have to pee!
He has driven from Canada's Pacific coast to the Atlantic coast numerous times including trips to the east coast, then south to the gulf, then west to the Pacific, and then back north home. Being a proud male, Larry never wanted to ask for directions. However, one time when trying to navigate through NYC at rush hour, Barbara said “look, that’s the third Macy’s we’ve driven by in the last hour” (there was only one!). Larry finally had to swallow his pride and ask.
Most family trips revolved around driving, often great lengths with very few stops.
One family trip including driving from Edmonton to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, Tijuana Mexico, San Francisco, and more done over a ten-day stretch at Easter. To stay comfortable on the long drives, the kids would each stake out their territory in the back seat. Janet, the oldest, lounging on the entire rear seat; Bill, the youngest, got the blazing heat laying on the ledge behind the rear seat and the rear window; and Marj, the middle child, got the floor with the transmission hump. Safety rules were a bit different then.
DO WE HAVE A GOOD PIC FROM CALIFORNIA TRIP?
One thing all the kids knew for sure was that you didn’t want the middle rear seat as this was the only one that was within striking distance of Larry’s arm regardless of who caused the ruckus.
Larry loved driving so much that after surgery to have stints put in he wasn’t allowed to drive for 30 days. He got a big calendar, put it on the wall with a big star on the date he could start driving again. Every day he religiously crossed a big “X” on the calendar, counting down to the big day, much like a prisoner counting the days until release.
Although they traveled to many places by plane when they had to, they never made it to Hawaii. Larry said, “when they build a bridge I’ll drive there!”
One of the trips Larry and Barbara made was to Europe, where he got to visit the memorials for his brother in England and Barbara’s brother in France, both killed in WWII.
Beyond cars, Larry was the original “jack of all trades”. He would fix or build anything - carpentry, appliances, vehicles, electrical, plumbing, you name it. He became the resource family and friends would go to for help or advice.
Larry was also one of those rare individuals that would read the manuals that came with products from cover to cover. In retirement, he built a large workshop with every conceivable tool and started churning out handyman projects for anyone interested.
Larry's favourite food was “meat”, especially steak. He always bemoaned the fact that the kids and Barb would cut the fat off meat, saying “you buy meat by the pound and that includes the fat”!
PIC OF HIM BARBECUING
Larry also demonstrated his Scottish roots by saving money making his own soda pop for the family. He assembled a huge amount of glass bottles, bought a capping device, and bottled many sodas for the kids. The only flaw in the plan was the looks the kids got wandering around the neighborhood drinking pop, as all the bottles were recycled beer bottles!
SODA POP PHOTO
Larry loved oysters, so much that on a few occasions he would have a ½ dozen for an appetizer and then enjoy them so much, have two more orders for dinner, nary a veggie in sight.
In 1962, Larry bought the first family trailer. That 14-inch beauty housed the family of five, plus Larry’s mother-in-law on numerous trips. It even made it down to Montreal and back on more than one occasion. While aerodynamic it was not, gas was cheaper back then.
OLD TRAILER PIC
In later years, when there were only two of them, Larry and Barb bought a trailer more than twice the size and were so proud of it. In fact, every day Larry and Barb had “Happy Hour", with a rye and ginger ale, of course, in the trailer in their backyard. They even slept out there a few times.
After hauling the behemoth back and forth across the mountains to Christina Lake, BC, in 1980 they bought a lot there, showing a sign of the teams as gas was getting more expensive.
NEW TRAILER PIC AT CHRISTINA LAKE
After only a few years, it was time to build a cottage there. This became Larry and Barb’s happy place where they took trips every spring, summer, and fall to enjoy the lake and the wonderful friends they had there.
SOME COTTAGE MOM/DAD PHOTOS
This family cottage has now become the Happy Place to many of Larry’s kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids.
It’s amusing to note he chose a lake for his Happy Place as Larry did not like water. Once, while getting into a hot tub in Phoenix, he remarked “I’ve had these swim trunks for 27 years and this is the first time they’ve got wet!”
Larry liked karaoke before anyone in Edmonton knew what it was. He particularly liked the oldies, as well as Scottish ditties such as “I belong to Glasgow” or the traditional “Danny Boy”.
In his later years, Larry was an active participant in the resident’s choir in his senior’s residence.
LARRY SINGING PHOTO
Over the years, Larry and Barb demonstrated the importance of love and family, and, as their kids became adults, they grew their own families as well.
PERHAPS PICS OF DAD WITH CHILDREN ON WEDDING DAYS
Larry and Barb’s legacy has expanded to encompass daughter Jan (Lee) Schmidt and their children Joanne (Aaron) White, Darren (Marcy) Schmidt, Pam (Tyler) Zielke, daughter Marj (Stan) Thomson, and their children Dave Thomson (Tammy), Lindsay (Travis) Hutchings, son Bill (Karen) Davidson and their children James (Stephanie) Davidson, Heather (Chris) Holmes, Jeff (Emily) Davidson as well as 17 great-grandchildren.
BIG FAMILY PIC (one from Wabamun lake cottage)
In his later years, Larry especially loved visits from his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
SOME PICS OF LARRY WITH GREAT GRANDCHILDREN?
Dad, Grandpa, Great Grandpa, we love you. We will always miss you. Say hi to mom for us.
PIC OF MOM AND DAD, PERHAPS LIMO PIC.