Albert "Al" Laberge

LABERGE, Albert “Al”

Taken suddenly on September 15, 2017 at the age 78 at Gould Lake. Al leaves behind his wife and best friend Susan. A loving father, grandfather and great grandfather. Al opened his heart to and will be greatly missed by his large extended family and many friends.

Al was born on the farm in Lawrence, Manitoba on July 13, 1939. His young Mom died one year later. His Dad and 4 older brothers did a great job raising him to become the loving, caring husband, father, grandfather and friend that he was.

A few years in Cavendish, Alberta spurred his sense of adventure and dreams of becoming a cowboy!

On the farm, machinery was repaired, redesigned and rebuilt from necessity. They were all environmentalists back then – Reuse and Recycle. That was always his way of life. It stayed with him as he married and raised new families, building or renovating not only for himself, but all his new extended family. If something broke – anything at all – call Al first, he could usually fix it. He loved being able to help and give some training and guidance to the next generation of handyman (or handywoman).

When Al left the farm to pursue his career, Electronics Service was where he naturally excelled. His people skills lead him to Management positions and his final position as National Service Manager at Panasonic Canada.

Al totally enjoyed his work and he happily dedicated his time and effort into it. He was proud of each of his many business achievements. But, his real joy was all of his large extended family and that’s where he spread his greatest gift, his love.

Al’s work took him to meetings not only across Canada, but also the U.S., Mexico, Europe and Japan. But his personal vacations were the memorable highlights in his life. Cross-Canada adventures, travelling around Europe with a railpass, and many fun trips with family and friends. Seeing the natural beauty and wonders of the world deepened his concern for our environment.

Relaxing didn’t come easily to Al, but golfing was the perfect solution. He loved the challenge of the game and never gave up pursuing a better score. Sharing this fun time with his friends was a great joy to Al.

After retiring, Al had the time (and still an amazing amount of energy) to renovate not only his house, but many projects for his children and friends. But his A-frame at Gould Lake was the ultimate challenge and it is a testament to his many talents and achievements. Many happy hours were spent with family and new and old friends at the lake and his 13 years of retirement were very happy.