Geoffrey Walter Laurence

Laurence, Geoffrey Walter – 87, Dartmouth, passed away on Tuesday, May 21, 2013 in the Dartmouth General Hospital. Born on March 5, 1926 in Huyton, UK, he was the son of the late Walter Thomas and Kate (Wilds) Laurence. After graduation from the Liverpool Wireless College in Liverpool, UK, Geoffrey served with the British Merchant Navy as a Radio Officer on the Rembrandt. After WWII, he continued his work as a Radio Officer with National Gypsum and Imperial Oil. He worked for Dominion Sound before joining CBC Television in 1956 as a sound technician, and later in management, where he worked for 30 years. After retirement he was on contract with the Canadian International Development Agency as a representative for Nova Scotia.

He was very active with the YMCA in Halifax and YMCA International. He made several trips to help the YMCA in Bogota, Colombia. He was also active in the Dartmouth Chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and helped build a bi-plane with the group and then made one on his own. His interests included painting, travel, amateur ham radio, the sea, sailing with the Bedford Basin Yacht Club, learning and mastering Spanish, and winters in Mexico, particularly in San Miguel de Allende.

He is survived by his loving wife of 61 years, Mary Catherine (Glenn); children, Geoffrey, Dartmouth, Gwen (John) Martin, Halifax; sister, Cathie (Frits) Warmink, Goor, Netherlands; Nieces, Edith Ann (Bill Butt) Perkins, Tatamagouche; Erma (James) Ursini, New York City; Alison (Richard Samways) Fox, Sandbach, UK; nephews, Stuart (Judy Bayard) Warmink, Morristown, NJ; Nicolas (Helen) Warmink, Hassocks, UK; Martin (Helen) Fox, Wigan, UK; and Laurence (Kathy) Fox, Bermuda.

He was predeceased by his brother, Ian and sister, Thelma Fox; and nephews Martin Glenn and James G. Perkins.

Special thanks to Dr. David MacDonald, the nurses in hematology, and the nurses in the Medical Day Unit at the QE II (VG Site) for their compassion and care for the last four years.

Visitation will be held on Sunday May 26 from 2-5pm and memorial service will be 2pm Monday May 27 both in A.L. Mattatall Funeral Home, 217 Portland Street, Dartmouth.

Interment will take place at a later date in Sunny Brae Cemetery in Tatamagouche, NS.

In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to the Leukemia Society, Sunny Brae Cemetery or a charity of choice.

Online condolences can be sent to the family by visiting the funeral home website www.mattatallfuneralhome.com