Julie Laroque and Lawrence Mahusky (Julie Laroque photo)
The theatre community in the Ottawa Valley will miss Lawrence Mahusky’s towering personality, according to a close friend.
Julie Laroque first met the late Mahusky, who passed away at the age of 60 back on March 11th, as part of a folk choir nearly four decades ago. She says his love for the arts carried him across the Valley during his career as a performer and public speaker, leaving a lasting impression on the many people he came across.
Mahusky’s love for character work and tireless preparation shone through in his knack for the one-man act, where his ability to command attention often made having simple chats with him an adventure and a voicemail liable to turn into a minute-long singing telegram.
Laroque adds that Mahusky’s love language was giving to others, taking vulnerability developed from early tragedies in his life and turning it into a warm aura and deep compassion for others, especially as a mentor for the many special needs children he worked with across Renfrew County.
While she jokes that Lawrence would probably love to be honoured by having every theatre in the Valley named in his honour (and she thinks it would be wonderful if that came to be), Julie believes the lifetime of work he has left behind is something that talented performers from across the Ottawa Valley can aspire to.
A funeral mass will be celebrated at St. Francis Xavier Church in Renfrew starting at 11:00 am on Friday, April 10th, followed by a reception. Donations in his memory may be made to the Diabetes Association or the Sunshine Coach “Friends of the Disabled.”
(written by Kasey Egan)
