Lawrence Hugh Gaffney

My father Lawrence endured his final illness with the dignity and fortitude that characterised his life. He died peacefully, his four children at his bedside, a little after 7 o’clock on a Sunday morning.    Lawrence was born in 1931 and experienced the War as a school-boy in Bury.  He vividly recalled the eerie red glow in the night sky as Manchester was blitzed, the stray bomb that exploded at Buckley Wells and his baby brother in a Mickey Mouse gas mask.  His experience of European war made him a committed Europeanist.   He began commuting from the family home in Bury to De La Salle College, Salford, in 1942, and left school in 1947 to begin his career in the textile industry.  This was interrupted by two years National Service in the RAF, a formative experience upon which he looked back with great fondness and numerous anecdotes.   On return to civilian life he resumed his career in the Lancashire textile industry and was witness to its gradual decline whilst working in management roles in mills in Heywood and Bolton.  At this time he was a keen footballer, playing regularly for St Joseph's in the Sunday league, attracting admiring glances from a certain member of the congregation. He married our mother, Sheila, in 1958 and they created a secure, loving environment for their four children that continues to serve as an example to our generation.   Lawrence had a keen intellect and was always ready to engage in political debate, sometimes into the early hours.  He was amongst the first people in the country to graduate with an Open University degree.  In his late sixties he completed an MSc at Salford University.   Many people have commented that Lawrence was a true gentleman.  He was always reliable, generous and simply a good man.  He was self-reliant and insisted on tackling DIY and decorating jobs by himself, as well as regular badminton, well into his eighties.   He faced serious challenges, particularly the death of our mother, Sheila, in 1991, leaving him a widower at the age of sixty with two teenage daughters in his care.  He did a grand job, sustained by his steadfastness of character and his unwavering Catholic faith.   He leaves 4 children and 10 grandchildren.  He was dearly loved and when we come to terms with the gap in our lives we will miss him profoundly.  We are all thankful for a life well lived.   There will be a Requiem Mass at St Mary’s Catholic Church, Radcliffe, at 11am on Tuesday 18th September, followed by interment at Bury Cemetery and a reception at Bury Golf Club.   Both our mother and father spent their final days in Bury Hospice and we cannot speak too highly of the professionalism and compassion of the wonderful people that cared for them.  If you are considering a floral tribute, please make a donation to the hospice instead – it is what Dad would have preferred.  He was never one for flowers.   John Gaffney