He was sitting there, cross-legged, in his wheelchair, outside of the Grandview Extended Care Centre, that warm 1977 summer evening, enjoying cigarette.

Craven A, to be exact.

It was the last place he thought he would ever be. The stronger conviction: he didn’t want to be there.

With wire-rimmed glasses and long hair, he was a John Lennon look alike.

I was on my way home after visiting Grampa Murray, who was also living at Grandview following a heart attack.

“Can I go with you?” was his verbal introduction as I got into my dad’s red Dodge.

“I have to get out of this place. I just have to.”

Simple. Direct. Humorous.

It was the prologue to a 47-year friendship with one Larry Ronald Pempeit.

Little did I know that he would be at my side, propping me up, or slapping me on the back through some of life’s defining moments.

Larry passed away April 14 at the age of 78.

His let’s-make-world-a-better-place attitude and visionary out-of-the-box thinking will........

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