ADOLPHUS (AL) OTTO LAROCQUE

Adolphus (Al) Otto Larocque, born July 24, 1921 in Chapple, Ont., passed away peacefully at the Nanaimo General Hospital on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2006 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
He rode the rails during the Depression, found work in a sawmill in Ontario at the beginning of the Second World War, and volunteered for the Canadian Army (active force) when he enlisted on Feb. 15, 1941.
He served in Canada with the Royal Canadian Artillery, then transferred to the Royal Canadian Engineers. Adolphus served with 11 Field Park Company, Royal Canadian Engineers in northern France, the Netherlands, and Germany as a lowbed tractor driver for a bulldozer.
Adolphus worked on numerous bridging projects, many under German fire, including the crossing of the Rhine River at Emmerich. He discovered that driving the largest truck on a battlefield was a great way to attract the enemy’s attention.
He remained in the Canadian Army after the war, transferring to the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps.
Adolphus married Laura Phyllis Nunn on March 16, 1946. They had three sons together, Vincent Allen, Gilford Thomas, and Louis Donald.
He also served on Canadian Army bases in the Yukon, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Ontario, as well as for the first United Nations Emergency Force in Egypt, Israel, Syria, and Lebanon in 1956-57.
He then left the Canadian Army in the late 1960s and worked in the security department of the University of British Columbia until the 1980s, when he retired with his loving wife, Laura, to Nanaimo, who sadly predeceased him by 10 years.
He is survived by his brother, Lou Larocque; sister, Elsie Keno; sons, Vincent (Juliana), Gilford (Bonny), and Louis (Lucy); four grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Adolphus was fond of boats and fishing, and he loved to travel to the Yukon, Ontario, and Manitoba to visit family and friends. He travelled to Ottawa and the Netherlands in May, 2005 on the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands as an official representative of the Royal Canadian Engineers.
He was a great father, grandfather, and gentleman—always helpful and generous both to family and friends.
A memorial service will be held at Saturday, Feb. 25, 2006 at 2 p.m. at the First Memorial Funeral Services, 1720 Bowen Rd., Nanaimo, B.C.
Condolences may be directed to the family at valarocque@shaw.ca or to #804 1 Chapel Street, Nanaimo, B.C., V9R 5H1.
Donations in lieu of flowers to the Canadian Cancer Society.