Lawrence McDonough

On May 6th, Lawrence McDonough will take his last trip on the Beaver Islander.  Upon arrival, he will be taken to Holy Cross Church.  Visitation will occur at 6 p.m. with a Catholic Vigil service scheduled at 7 p.m.  A funeral mass will take place on Saturday, May 7th at 11 a.m. followed by interment at Holy Cross Cemetery. Father John Paul and Deacon Jim Siler will officiate. The wonderful ladies of the Alter Society will provide a luncheon following the service.

Lawrence Matthew McDonough passed away at the age of 101, at his home surrounded by his family on December 29, 2015. Lawrence was born and raised on Beaver Island, Michigan on November 15, 1914, to Sylvester “Vesty" McDonough and Mary Connaghan, one of eight children. He married Winifred LaFreniere in 1939 who preceded him in death in 2009. They raised six children, sons, Gary (Jean), Lawrence (Kay), Joseph (Tarry), Kevin (Linda), and two daughters, Pamela (Brad) Grassmick, and Kathie (Timothy) Gonyeau. He enjoyed his seventeen grandchildren, fifteen great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Lawrence was raised on Sand Bay on the Jordan River and worked his family’s homesteaded farm. He was blessed with good friends and family, a strong sense of community, and had a grand sense of humor. He had frequent visitors seeking his stories of early island life as well as all of the changes and progress that he saw on Beaver Island during his lifetime. Some of his various careers included: owning the first pasteurized dairy; sailing the Great Lakes on freighters; logging; and serving as a board of director for the first BIBCO. He was captain of the first Emerald Isle and the Beaver Islander. He managed the Beaver Island Boat Company until his retirement in 1980.

A spring funeral service at Holy Cross Catholic Church is being planned. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Holy Cross Church or Beaver Island EMS.