Rev. L. Virgil Lawrence
1935 – 2017

The family of Rev. L. Virgil Lawrence announces that he passed from this earth on December 17th, into the presence of the Lord. Virgil was born in Rocky Mountain House, Alberta. The only child of Wesley and Fern Lawrence, he grew up in logging camps and on farms. His family moved to Edmonton when he was a teen, and he graduated from East Glen High School. In 1954, he attended Northwest Bible College in Edmonton, where he met the love of his life, Nina. They married in 1956, and, after graduation, set out to plant Pentecostal churches across Alberta. Churches they planted or pastored over the years include Stony Plain, Hinton, Alliance, Forestburg, Drumheller, and Innisfail. Virgil also served four years in the PAOC district office, as the Christian Education and Youth Director. Planting churches does not offer a salary, so, in the early years, Virgil also put his carpentry skills to good use to support his family, via his own home construction company. Upon retirement in 1999, he embarked on his final building project, building a family home in Penhold, where he operated a small wood-working business and began making toys. An avid outdoorsman, Virgil was well-known for his epic hunting and fishing stories. He had a special love for children and always lit up when his grandchildren and great grandchildren visited. Even in his retirement years, he continued to engage in ministry, serving as a visitation pastor and chaplain in local seniors’ lodges. Virgil is lovingly remembered and missed by his wife and four children: Sharolyn (Rafael) Sanchez of Penhold, AB, Carolee (Duane) Lutz of Evansburg, AB, Danielle (Theo) Klooster of Penhold, AB, and Murray (Karen) Lawrence, of Calgary, AB, as well as 11 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. Virgil will be celebrated at Home Church, 1 – England Way, Red Deer County, AB on Saturday, January 6,, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Crossroads Ministry Canada (100 – Huntley Street), PO Box 5100, Burlington ON L7R 4M2 or through the web site at www.crossroads.ca. Condolences to Virgil’s family may be emailed to meaningful@telus.net. Arrangements entrusted to Meaningful Memorials Funeral Service – Red Deer – 587-876-4944

• Date : 2017-12-17