Obituary of Arnold Garfield Lawlor

Arnold Garfield (Arnie) Lawlor March 26th, 1939 - May 10th, 2026 Passed away peacefully in his 87th year. Loved and adored husband of Jude (nee Duval) and amazing father of Michael (Michelle) and Jeff. Loved "Gramps" to Mackenzie (Thomas) and Jessy. Arnie was born in Montreal, Quebec and later moved to Morrisburg, Ontario. While attending high school Arnie excelled academically and played many sports including hockey and football. After high school Arnie worked on the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway as a deckhand on a tugboat to gather funds for future educational desires. In 1958 Arnie was asked by the Detroit Red Wings To enter into a "C form contract" that he rejected. In 1959 he received a full hockey scholarship from Clarkson University in Potsdam New York. Clarkson University had a strong hockey program and played in the NCAA FROZEN FOUR finals in 1962 and again in 1963 winning silver and bronze respectively. After graduating in 1963 with his degree in Business Administration, he began his career with State Farm Insurance while spending his nights going to teachers' college At University of Toronto. Arnie started his teaching career in 1965 at North Dundas High School but also continued playing competitive hockey at the senior level. Four years later Arnie moved to Schreiber, Ontario to continue teaching Business at high school and also Methodology at Lakehead University. The Lawlor family moved to Dorchester in 1971 and Arnie began Teaching Business at Lord Dorchester Secondary School until his first retirement in 1998. After a few years of retirement, Arnie decided to go back into education becoming the Principal of the American Nicaraguan School in Managua, Nicaragua and then moved to become The Director of The Village School in Guatemala. After moving back to Canada, Arnie spent 8 years on the Board of Directors of the Ontario Hockey Association representing players, owners and staff of Junior A, B and C hockey teams throughout Ontario. Municipal politics was also a big interest for him as he was a councilor for the town of Morrisburg as well as 6 years on council for the village of Dorchester. Arnie is also a member of the Dundas County and Kemptville Sports Halls of Fame. Arnie will be remembered fondly for his love of coaching and giving back to the members of our community. He coached hockey at all levels in Dorchester as well as baseball, soccer and Track. Many of the teams he coached had great success like the Ontario Champion Dorchester Dolphins in their first year of existence, many high school WASSA championships and all the minor league baseball and hockey teams. Arnie's NorthStar was giving his time and effort to the residents of our community through education and sports. His tireless efforts up to his final days are part of what the fabric of our community is about and represents going forward. A Celebration of life will be held for Arnie on Saturday May 30th 1PM to 4PM North Dorchester Optimist Club 1653 Richmond Street Dorchester, Ontario N0L 1G0 In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Terry Fox Foundation, 330-2755 Lougheed Highway, Port Coquitlam, B.C. V3B 5Y9 www.terryfox.org/ways-to-give, Parkinson Canada, 316-4211 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON M2P 2A9 www.parkinson.ca, Humane Society London and Middlesex, 1414 Dundas Street, London, ON N5W 3B6 www.hslm.ca or to the charity of your choice would be appreciated. Online condolences may be made at www.biemanfuneralhome.com (Bieman Funeral Home, 3970 Hamilton Road, Dorchester, ON - (519)-268-7672 - in charge of arrangements)