Patrick Jamieson, with Lorna Rumsby, Victoria

The Bishop Of Sooke, Sooke Electric. Larry Rumsby spoke with such a quiet authority and conviction that he earned these lighthearted soubriquets in church and professional circles. Larry, an electrician by trade happened to help build the original St. Rose of Lima parish church building in the 1940s, a structure that happened to be on T’Souke First Nations land.

Solid and respectful Aboriginal relationships and ecumenism were among Larry’s abiding passion along with hosting the Catechumenate process with his wife Betty in their home as part of the process by which those enquiring enter the Catholic church as baptized members.

A very thoughtful man in both senses of the word, Larry could be relied upon to have given full consideration to what he had to say before he spoke. For example, when Bishop Remi De Roo was falsely accused of gambling on race horses after his retirement, Larry’s considered comment was: “Yes, Remi gambled, he gambled on you and he gambled on me and that is as far as it went.” Meaning the bishop put his faith trust in the diocesan flock and unfortunately some of it may have backfired on him.

Larry and Betty were full fledged members of the progressive post Vatican II church that emerged under the leadership of Bishop De Roo following the Second Vatican Council (1962-65). He followed Bishop De Roo’s leadership model with its ample and consistent adult education process.

He was a parish representative member of the Diocesan Synod between 1986 and 1991 that established the People’s Synodal Church according to the official history of the event, “Forward in the Spirit, Challenge of the People’s Synod”, written and edited by De Roo, Grant Maxwell and Pearl Gervais. It contained contributions by every synod delegate who cared to submit something.

In an interview for this article, Bishop De Roo described Larry as soft spoken with a friendly smile and a mischievous sense of humour. He saw him as self-confident with a very loving relationship with his wife Betty.

“A knowledgeable man of faith with a strong sense of community, very reliable and always available. He embodied a sense of reflection and a forthright outspokenness; who presented someone with a clear sense of calling.

“Larry embodied a fine energy and a deep feeling of the significance of his own priestly mission and a conviction that it is up to us, the people of the church to seek out the mission of what God has in mind for us. In effect one had a sense he ran the parish, was its backbone; without being overbearing. It was lovely to visit the family in their home in Sooke in its bucolic setting, which was in a real sense a key part of the church, where the real work could be done.”

2.

Larry and Betty had seven children, three girls, the eldest Lorna delivered the eulogy on March 27 at the COVID restricted funeral at St. Rose of Lima, in Sooke.

“Our family story begins when my mother came from Saskatchewan to attend St. Joseph’s nursing school in Victoria… She met Larry through his sister Joan, also at nursing school…after their courtship they were married January 26, 1952 and drove down to California in Dad’s brand new 1952 Austin on their honeymoon.”

“My father was born in 1926 in Jordan River. My grandfather was an electrician at the Hydro Dam in Jordan River and his mother was a school teacher…one of my first memories of my father is being carried on his shoulders across the Sooke River Bridge when it was being re-planked and Dad stepping from one wooden cross-beam to another and me looking down at the water and then watching him do the same for my other siblings…I don’t remember being scared.”

“A friend of my father’s, Pat Jamieson, recently remarked that my parents lived in a dream world in their private Garden of Eden down in the vale near the Sooke River where life never changed. Mom was a very good baker…we would have tea and cookies under the trees and all would be well with the world. The sun would always shine, the bees would buzz, the birds would sing and we kids would play with not a care in the world and not always in our own yard…When mom wanted us home, she would blow a big whistle.

“Dad would plant a big vegetable garden every spring…chores gave us a sense of belonging, a sense of responsibility and kept us out of trouble…we would go camping in the summer…Dad would realize summer was over, Labour Day was coming and we hadn’t gone camping yet..usually we missed the first ferry to the States, in the Inner Harbour, Dad would set up the camp stove on the curb so we could all have bacon and eggs.

“Once a photographer for the newspaper came by, our parents knew him from parties. He terrified our mother by saying he was going home to get his camera and put us on the front page of the paper next day…he didn’t come back much to mom’s relief. Dad just laughed at the whole thing.”

“Dad was well known in Sooke for his love of itsy-bitsy bikini bathing suits and hot tubs. He was a fine figure of a man and liked to work on his sun tan year round. When we were introduced to new people often they said: ‘Oh, you are the one whose father runs around in the bikini.’

“Dad had two childhood friends, friends called them the three Musketeers. In 1957 one who owned a sports car invited dad to join him on a weekend car rally. Dad had good mathematical skills and sense of direction so the two of them managed to win second place and dad brought home a trophy with a little red MG on it.

“Family was always important to our father. He loved our mother, his wife, Betty often helping out by washing the dishes, vacuuming the rugs and making breakfast every day…porridge on weekdays and bacon and eggs on Sundays. He was interested in what his children were doing. He often helped us with our homework and encouraged us to stay in school and graduate

“I want to mention the other part of his life that was close to his heart: his faith in God and his work promoting inter-church activities…On the day of 9/11 when New York City towers were hit by planes, Larry contacted all the Sooke Churches and organized an inter-church prayer service that same afternoon…for some time Larry was the author in the Sooke News Mirror of the pastors pen column representing the Catholic church. Often people would remark on how much they enjoyed it.”

“Regularly Larry was asked to conduct memorial services for Sooke families who were spiritual but not religious. He was especially respected as was Betty by the T’Souke First Nations.

“Larry celebrated his 94th birthday on September 11, 2020 with family visiting over a week long period. Unfortunately he fell ill shortly thereafter and spent the next six months in hospital and Ayre Manor Hospice in Sooke where he passed peacefully. Truly he will be missed.”

3.

On a personal level, it was always a pleasure to spend time with Larry. He was the sort of person who made you feel better by just being in his presence. I early on recognized his noble soul.

The last word goes to former ICN Editor Marnie Butler who said “Larry really understood the grace and blessing of working in community. The great value of being together as the communion of saints. We experienced this at ICN meetings, where Larry and Betty always made a special point of being there, despite the long drive from Sooke.

“Larry worked out of community and as such created community. That special power was his great gift.”