Obituary of Lloyd "Red" Stanley Lafoy
(AKA Fharell K. Lafoy)
Passed away peacefully at home on Monday, February 18, 2019. He was in his 97th year.
Nicknamed Red when he signed up for the RCAF on November 7, 1941, then known as “Lucky Red” when he flew over 35 missions as a tail gunner over Germany, France, and Italy, Red wore a green polka-dot scarf on those missions. The scarf was given to him as a lucky charm by a WWII sweetheart, Libby Asher, a fact his family learned 50 years later when the lucky green scarf was found adorning a “wooden snowman” in his family’s backyard, after he was asked if he wore something special on missions.
Born on August 7, 1922 in Gray, Saskatchewan, Red grew up in the Dust Bowl prairies of the Great Depression. He reminisced about relief trains, a one-room schoolhouse, and the horse-drawn cars of that time known as Bennett Buggies. Entering the war changed his life, and he took both his first train ride and boat ride to England, where, between missions, he found a love of dancing to keep his mind off his flights.
Red was training to enter the Pacific Campaign when the war ended. He then attended the Haileybury School of Mines, which led to a new career as an underground superintendent and positions in mine administration. For his dedication and accomplishments, Red was inducted into the Cobalt Mining Hall of Fame, in 2012.
Red had a great love of badminton, tennis, and, especially, dancing, which he taught and organized in Northern Ontario’s Tri Towns of Cobalt, Haileybury and New Liskeard, and which led to many championships with his wife Jean Elsie MacPherson (Lafoy), who passed away on July 1st, 2009. In addition to sons Gary, Denis, and Richard, they also had a daughter Sheron Dale, who sadly died at birth in 1952. It was a wonderful family time—with a large extended family including the MacPhersons, Perrys and Audettes, who still treasure his memory today—and Red dedicated his life to family.
In 1963, Red and the family moved south to Oshawa, and bought the Geneva Park, Recreation Park, which he loved. Geneva Park was the highlight of recreational life for Durham Region during the mid to late ’60s, where he had two large swimming pools, dances with live bands on Sunday afternoons, plus horseback riding and family picnics, as was popular in that era.
In these years, Red also started his real estate career with Guide Real Estate and worked on the Oshawa Real Estate Board, where he was awarded the Salesman of the Year award while with Dugan Real Estate in Oshawa. In the mid 1970s, he moved to Edmonton and continued in real estate both there and in Calgary, where he worked until retirement at age 85. His company, Lafoy Real Estate, which he co-founded in 1977, continues today on the Toronto Real Estate Board through his son Richard.
In Calgary and now known as Fharell, Red met Gwen Michelson, who was the love of his life for 28 years. She passed away in March of 2014. They were a beautiful couple who loved to dance and were known for their matching Western outfits throughout the Calgary area dancing circles for years. They were active members of the Legion in Calgary and are still well known to many there. After Gwen’s passing, Red moved back to Ontario to be with his boys in 2014 and extended family.
While living with Son Richard and Ann, and paternal grandson Cole, step grandchildren Graham, Christopher, Nikolas and Jade. Red was able to come full circle, reconnecting with his son Denis and Michelle in Merida, Mexico; Gary and Lenny and paternal grandson Che, and step grandchildren Chika, and Christine who he inspired to always reach for the top. Red was loved by so many, known for his kindness and politeness to all. In his final years, he was able to connect with the RCAF 420 Wing in Oshawa to share stories of WWII. Red Lafoy was definitely one of those men of a generation who changed the world.”
His inspiring, can-do spirit was ,“if someone has done it before, we can figure out how to do it again.”
