Obituary of Lawrence Parnell Drouillard

February 17, 1952 - January 21, 2024

Lawrence Parnell Drouillard. Age 71 of Lincoln Park, Michigan.

Beloved husband of Patricia. Loving dad to Tara Ann, Lawrence Patrick and the late Janay Marie. Dearest Grandpa to Jessie Gonzalez.  Also survived by many nieces and nephews.  Preceded in death by his parents Ron and Norma and his sisters Diana and Linda.

Family Tribute ~

Larry grew up living in Brownstown, Michigan. They didn’t have a high school back then so in 10^th grade they came to Southgate High. We sat in the same homeroom, my maiden name being Duncan, and that’s how we met.

We started dating and it went on from there.  Back then you could get a decent job right out of high school, and in January of 1970 he asked me to marry him.  We graduated in June and had planned our wedding for September. First he worked at a Ford Motor plant, then my Uncle Charlie said come to the railroad, you’ll like it better. So he did – and he worked his way up to supervisor and retired after 42 years. He made many good friends there which he kept in touch with after he retired from Conrail in 2012.

Larry took lessons as a teenager on the electric guitar. He and his friends started a band in high school named THE THIRD DEGREE. They would play at friends’ parties and I believe he said they played at Wyandotte Arena one time also.  Larry and his dad enjoyed trapshooting with friends and would go to Brest Bay gun club, where his dad was a member. Larry and I started bowling on a couple’s league. We bowled with friends and our neighbors on different leagues for quite a few years. When growing up his dad taught him how to do car repairs so he could repair almost anything on a car, which he did when our cars needed it. He was quite the handy man too. He had put a new floor in our kitchen and a whirlpool tub in the bathroom with new walls around it. And he would also do the painting around the house. He would tackle almost anything. You name it, he would do it. Most every summer he would put in a small vegetable garden behind our garage, for he liked fresh veggies. His favorite TV show was M*A*S*H, and he would watch it all the time, from the first show and even the reruns later on. He would watch U of M football games, Tigers, the Lions and Red Wings. Through the years he attended a few games with our son and friends. We enjoyed family vacations and on special anniversaries, the two of us would get away by ourselves. And of course he enjoyed his beer! He drank Black Label, when it was around and then Miller Lite.

I will remember him as being quick witted.  He could come up with a joke about anything that was said or done. He was a great husband, dad and grandpa.

His family and I will truly miss him, and I’m sure his friends will too.