Passed away peacefully with his family by his side at the Montfort Hospital on March 8, 2021. Laurent, better known as Larry, was in his 89th year. He was the beloved husband of Pauline Martin and the proud father of Lise, Helene and Jean. He is also survived by his five grand children, Philippe, Stéphane, Jered, Grégoire and Matisse. Larry LOVED life, the simple life.
He lived a long and active life, always on the move. For those who knew him, he was, on many occasions, ahead of his time. In his way, he always spoke up about many social injustices that he came across. He was a soft man, all about peace and love. He actually had his own love bug in the 70’s, a red Volkswagen beetle full of flower power stickers. He lovingly took care of his immediate family as well as his friends and until their passing his mother and two sisters.
Born in la basse-ville d’Ottawa, he was in his heart always a French Canadian kid from lowertown. Although he was not a fan of the suburbs, he very much cherished his home in Blackburn Hamlet where he lived for the last 48 years with Pauline. This was the place of many happy family gatherings as well as a number of pool parties in the 70s and 80s. His “other” home was of course his store on Bank Street.
Despite retiring as a small business owner over 30 years ago, he continued to make daily visits to the “store” which has been run by his son’s business since then. His office on the third floor remains intact. Rarely do a father and son see each other almost everyday over their adult lives, but this was their reality, one that they both cherished until fairly recently.
Larry was a Tim Horton’s guy, don’t get him started on Starbucks. He also loved his Jos Louis’ and never missed the opportunity to share his favorite snack with his grandchildren. He loved nostalgia, often in the company of Frank Sinatra and Charles Aznavour. Finally, he also loved cars, and still took out his 1960 Porsche on the occasional ride around the neighborhood.
A mass celebrating his life will be held later this spring. In lieu of flowers, Larry would have appreciated that you donate to either the Ottawa Mission or Sheppard’s of Good Hope helping those most in need in his beloved
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Laurent Denis Larry Martin Monday March 8th 2021..
Death notice for the town of: Ottawa, Province: Ontario