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Our beloved husband, father and papa, Lawrence Robert Duffin passed away on May 5, 2025 at the age of 86 years. He was born in Ottawa, Ontario on June 1, 1938 to Alfred and Edith Duffin.
Lawrence moved to Calgary, Alberta with his parents and older brother Richard in 1940. Upon arriving there they lived on Elbow Drive, a younger brother, Victor joined the family in 1943. Lawrence enjoyed many adventures with Cub Scouts and YMCA and family outings, camping out, climbing mountains and hunting gophers at the Glenmore Reservoir. Lawrence lost his father in 1951.The family stayed in Calgary until Edith met and married Ken Graham and they moved to the farm by Lousanna in 1953. This is where Lawrence got to experience farm life and working with livestock which sparked his interest in agriculture. He knew at a young age he wanted to get into the cattle line of work and stayed with it the rest of his working days. Lawrence started Grade 10 at Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School in Red Deer. It was here that he met the love of his life Eileen Carson. It was early that he pledged his love, and he wanted her to run away with him and get married, but she must’ve turned him down as they both completed and graduated from the Comp. Soon another proposal resulted in their marriage on August 25, 1956. The young couple moved to Calgary and lived in a modest suite which is where they welcomed Sheree Lynn in 1957 and Penny Lea in 1958.
Upon arriving in Calgary, he worked at Robin Hood Flour Mills at the end of a conveyor belt stacking 100 lb bags of flour. He soon realized, after two weeks, that he did not want to make a career of it and moved on to a trucking position with Pioneer Paving hauling asphalt. Then late in the fall of 1956, he started with Burns Foods working in the parts department with the understanding that he could apply for a job in the livestock department when an opening came up. This happened approximately a year later when he got the job of being an alley boy chasing, sorting and weighing cattle. That was his start in the livestock business, and he never looked back. In the spring of 1962 Lawrence and Eileen moved to Red Deer where he started with Red Deer Packers as a cattle buyer. Shortly thereafter, in April, Timothy Lawrence was born. In 1963 Red Deer Packers was sold out to Intercontinental Packers. In 1969 Lawrence was transferred to Regina as head buyer. The time in Regina was short and sweet as he was transferred back to Red Deer as head buyer in the fall of 1970. In 1972 Lawrence and Eileen started Lawrence Duffin Livestock Limited, his own order buying business specializing in stocker and feeder cattle, which is what he always dreamed of doing. Lawrence took great pride in his business, developing many loyal customers; some turning into lifelong friends. Lawrence ran his business with honesty, fairness and integrity; his word and handshake was better than any contract.
Lawrence and Eileen continued to reside in Red Deer until the summer of 1981 when they built their dream home out at Springvale Heights in Red Deer County. It was here that they hosted many family gatherings, parties for lifelong friends, customers and those that helped Lawrence to build his business.
Lawrence and Eileen enjoyed many special holidays travelling to Hawaii, Australia, Alaska, across Canada and numerous destinations in the USA. They spent many winters splitting their time between Palm Springs and Yuma. They also enjoyed numerous cruises; some with family, some with lifelong friends and some just enjoying each others company.
Lawrence participated in many sports throughout his youth and adult life such as hockey, badminton, swimming, target shooting, skiing, soccer, bowling, track and field, fishing, water skiing, curling and golfing but his absolute favorite was football. He particularly loved cheering for the Calgary Stampeders and Flames.
Lawrence loved to dance! He was in the Dance Club in high school and loved to grab his best girl, Eileen and head out to sock hops, country Saturday night dances, the Queen of Hearts dance and Christmas dances. Their prowess on the dance floor was impressive to witness.
Lawrence’s pride and love for his family was undying; his support for his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren with their many activities was immeasurable. When able they attended many of the different sporting events and activities that the kids were involved in. Dad lived a long happy fulfilled life and shared with us he had absolutely no regrets.
Lawrence is lovingly remembered by his loving wife of sixty-eight years, Eileen Duffin, his daughter’s, Sheree (Reed) Howell, Penny (Larry) Sloan and son Timothy Duffin (Lisa), his grandchildren: Dusty (Sara), Cora Lea (Tyler), Dessee, Logan (Lisa), Camille (Justin), Nolan (Kailey), Cassandra (Kory), Benjamin and Mathew, and his great grandchildren: Lilly, Sadee, Stella, Reed, Emerson, Miller, Jasper, George, Adeline, Theo, Locklyn, Walter and Ripp. Lawrence is also survived by two brothers Richard (Marette) Duffin, Victor (Gloria) Duffin, as well as her sister’s-in-law; Vera Trca, Meryl (Ernie) Campbell, Sharon Carson, Evie (Dave) Jones, and many nieces and nephews and numerous dear friends.
Lawrence’s family would like to extend our deepest appreciation for the compassion and care given at Unit 21 at the Red Deer Regional Hospital, as well as the nurses and staff at the Rocky Mountain House Hospital as well as the Innisfail Health Care Centre. They would also like to give a very special thank you to the nurses and staff at Park Avenue at Creekside for their utmost care and compassion, to all of us, in his final days.
A Memorial Service will be held at the Harvest Centre at the Westerner Park in Red Deer, Alberta on Wednesday, May 28, 2025 at 11 a.m. If friends so desire, memorial donations can be made to the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute or the Alzheimer’s Society of Alberta #306, 10430 61 Avenue Edmonton, Alberta T6H 2J3 or at alzheimer.ca/ab/en. Condolences, memories and photos may be shared and viewed at www.heartlandfuneralservices.com. Arrangements in care of: Heartland Funeral Services Ltd., 4415 – 49 Street, Innisfail, Alberta. Phone: 403.227.0006
Monday May 5th 2025
Death notice for the town of: Innisfail, Province: Alberta
death notice Lawrence Robert Duffin Monday May 5th 2025
obituaries notice Lawrence Robert Duffin Monday May 5th 2025
We offer our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Lawrence Robert Duffin Monday May 5th 2025 and hope that their memory may be a source of comfort during this difficult time. Your thoughts and kind words are greatly appreciated.
