Monuments to His Memory
by
Sam Loschiavo
Larry died in 1990 at 36 years of age after a long illness. I shall not attempt to describe the magnitude of our loss because, unless someone has suffered the tragedy of losing a child, he or she cannot possibly appreciate or understand the significance of it. As parents, we still suffer intense pain. A support group of bereaved parents and the many books we have read have helped. Instead of allowing ourselves to wallow in a pit of depression, we have chosen to concentrate on the positive aspects of Larry's life. We have found that this approach is more therapeutic.As a youngster, Larry loved building sand projects at Grand Beach—not your usual sand castle but huge dams complete with reservoirs and waterways, or a highway cloverleaf with ramps, overpasses and underpasses. Why did we get the impression that he would become an engineer?
As a child and later as an adult Larry was not one to boast about his accomplishments. One time when he was about nine years old his cub master said to us, "You must be quite proud of Larry."
Taken a bit by surprise, I replied, "Well, we're always proud of him. Did he do something special?"
"Did he not tell you abut the snap test we gave them?"
"No, what was it?" I asked.
"We gave them a surprise test on knots and Larry was the only one who knew all of them."
Of course we were proud and when we asked Larry why he did not mention it, he replied in his usual modest manner, "It was no big deal." He was not the type to use a lot of words. If he could say what he had to say in three words, he would not use five. People like him invent expressions like Stop! Look! Listen!
During his teens his school sponsored a 35-mile walkathon. One of this friends later told us that Larry walked the entire 35 miles and refused to accept rides between checkpoints as did many of his schoolmates. Again, we told him how proud we were that he refused to cheat. He reflected a while and quietly remarked, "That would be dumb." What he meant, of course, was that by accepting a ride in what was supposed to be a walkathon, a person would only be cheating himself or herself. These are but two examples that identify the kind of boy he was.
Larry was proficient in Math and Physics in high school and he decided to enter the electrical engineering program at the University of Manitoba, an extremely challenging and difficult course. After graduation, he silently endured months of disappointment as his applications for jobs yielded only polite letters of rejection from corporations. As disappointment was about to turn into discouragement, he was hired by the chief engineer of the prestigious firm of architects, Smith Carter.
Early in his career he noticed on one of his projects a large pile of conduit tubing which was of a grade inferior to that called for in the specifications. He, a young engineer not yet a year in the job, pointed this out to the general foreman, a man nearly three times Larry's age with about 35 years' experience. The foreman explained that this was not important since the conduit was to go through concrete and consequently didn't pose any fire hazard. But Larry also pointed out that the customer was paying for the higher grade. Quietly but firmly he persuaded the contractor to remove and replace the conduit. Larry did not realize at the time that he had stumbled onto a common practice in the construction industry. News of this story spread rapidly among architectural, engineering, and construction firms, and it established Larry's reputation for integrity. Nine years later, a small firm of consulting engineers invited him to join the company because of his knowledge, dedication and reputation. Within about two years, he was invited to become a partner.
During his frequent hospital stays, he was as happy as it is possible for a terminal patient to be, poring over specifications and making last minute changes before placing his P.Eng. stamp on them. During the last few weeks of Larry's life, the senior partner of the company remarked, "I'll never find another partner like Larry." And he never did! When Larry died in the palliative care unit, the compassionate nurses who had come to know and love him, abandoned their professionalism and cried with us.
Larry's stamp is much in evidence at Portage and Main where he worked on the electrical design in the Concourse, Scotia Bank, Toronto Dominion Centre, and the Bank of Montreal extension. His other projects include the Investors Group building, Max Bell Centre, airport extension, as well as those located in other parts of Manitoba and Canada. His last project was the Union Centre at Smith and Broadway. These buildings, and a bursary we set up at the University of Manitoba to help other students in electrical engineering, are viewed by us, his wife and daughters and friends, as monuments to his memory.