It is with heavy hearts that we say farewell to our husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, uncle, and dear friend. Left to cherish Shawn’s memory are his wife Sandy; daughter, Moyra (Sean), son Nathan (Angelena), stepson Jason (Dana), son-in-law Marc; grandchildren, Ashley, James, Rachelle, Jakob, Rylan, Tivon, Brooke, Cashlin, Grayson, Rose, and JayCee; as well as his great-grandchildren, Madison, Caleb, and Noah; sister Catherine MacAlpine (Duncan), brother Alfred Junior (Lynn), brother George (Pat), sister Rebecca Greenwood (Stan), sister Shannon Larson, mother-in-law Shirley Charnock, and sister-in-law Diane Charnock.
Shawn was predeceased by his parents Alfred and Shirley, sister Eleanor, brother-in-law Bill, son Robert, stepdaughter Melissa, and granddaughter Brianna.
Shawn was born in St. Thomas, Ontario. He joined the Primary Reserves in 1970 and served from 1970-1972. On 13 March 1972, he took the Oath of Allegiance to serve in the Canadian Forces, in London, Ontario, at the age of 17. Shawn completed Recruit Training in Cornwallis, New Brunswick, by June 1972. Traffic Technician training began shortly thereafter. Further course and practical trades training prepared him for Loadmaster duties on CH147 Chinook Helicopters, with a posting to Uplands (Ottawa) with 450 Squadron, in 1976. During his flying tour, he received a document naming a lake after him called Cpl SR Larson Lake on Baffin Island, Nunavut. He was also recognized as an honourable member of the “Order of Arctic Adventures” at that time. Shawn was a volunteer in nearly all the community theatre acting groups that were located near his postings. His natural forte was comedy. Other postings included 5 Air Movements Unit (AMU) Lahr, Wainwright, Alberta, and 2 AMU Trenton, where he released from the Canadian Forces in 1994.
After he released 1994, his post-military life brought him to Edmonton, Alberta where he was hired at Waymarc Industries, working in the warehouse. He was promoted to the Order Desk, enjoying a successful career as a Territory Manager, selling the product. Upon leaving the sales team, Shawn worked in the office as Chief Estimating and Design Consultant. He was excellent at organizing several events at Waymarc spanning over 25 years. Shawn’s successes included company Christmas Parties, Baseball Tournaments, Waymarc Olympics, and Waymarc family camping trips. He continued to work at Waymarc until his hospitalization at Christmas 2019. Shawn took pride in his work, and with his experience and vast knowledge of the business, trained many employees, both new and seasoned.
Shawn also dedicated 16 years’ volunteer time to Cosmopolitan International, a non-profit organization supporting Juvenile Diabetes. He was very active through every official capacity, including President. Shawn also went through every capacity of the Western Canada Federation of Cosmopolitan International, including Governor. Shawn was also involved in Rock’n August for 23 years. He played a part in organizing and hosting that annual event. Shawn also developed spreadsheets, agendas and newsletters for both Cosmos and Rock’n August. He will be greatly missed.
There will be a gathering to honour Shawn called, “Come Have a Beer with Shawn” per his request; held on Saturday, 22 February 2020 between 1200-1600 hours, at The Royal Canadian Legion #178, Kingsway Branch, 14339 50 St, Edmonton AB. Please join us to have a beer with Shawn, and share memories.
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Warrant Officer Shawn Rex Larson CD Retired February 10 2020..
Décès pour la Ville: Edmonton, Province: Alberta