Ode to a life well lived

The town of Wheatley lost one of their biggest supporters a couple of weeks ago with the passing of Larry McDonald.

Larry’s involvement in local sports, service clubs and activities was really second-to-none over the years. He was also instrumental in many initiatives Mark Ribble in Leamington.

Here at the Southpoint Sun, we came to know Larry through his involvement with almost every club that looked for our help with publicizing their events or their printing needs.

He was a regular visitor to our office and would often sit down and chat about all of the things going on in the community.

Not once did he complain about being ill, although we knew for the past several months, that he wasn’t doing all that well.

Larry McDonald

His love of his community shone through in everything he did and I have to wonder if the recent situation involving the Wheatley Arena not being opened would have had his dander up. He was a fierce proponent of figure skating and minor hockey in the area and I think he would have been at the forefront of the push to get the arena open for the season.

After all, he headed up the committee to have it built back in 1974. Always humble, Larry once said, “I’m not so sure I have ever been that great a leader, but I always had a heck ofa lot of backing and friends who helped me accomplish whatever I set out to do.” He said that after becoming the Reeve of Wheatley in 1980.

It’s the community service aspect of Larry’s life that will be most remembered. He was the charter president of the Wheatley Jaycees in 1960 and also headed up the resurrection of the Old Boys’ Reunion, which flourished for several years in the community. More recently, he represented the Wheatley Optimist Club and helped organize the annual fishing derby.

I’ve only skimmed the surface and I’m sure I’ve missed so many other things, but the fact is that Wheatley won’t be the same without Larry McDonald around.

Let’s hope someone else picks up the reigns and carries on with his legacy.