Homeless Hantsport, N.S., man still fondly remembered 10 years after murder

HANTSPORT, N.S. — As crows soared overhead and a cool breeze rustled the leaves in the Riverbank Cemetery, about two dozen residents gathered near a memorial tree to remember the life of Harley Lawrence.

The sombre Sunday service was held the day before the 10th anniversary of Lawrence’s murder.

“Harley’s horrific death made national news on Oct. 23, 2013, but today, I would like to focus not on the events associated with his death but rather his volunteer contributions, especially to this community,” said Brian Bishop, who is a member of the Riverbank Cemetery committee and the Hantsport and Area Historical Society.

A son of the late Gordon Fisher and Mary Frances (Lawrence) VanAmburg, Lawrence grew up in Hantsport and returned periodically during his adult life. Bishop and his wife, Shirley, first met Lawrence when they were running the Hantsport and Area Food Bank and Lawrence was homeless. Bishop approached him to see if he needed help.

“Harley was a strong man at that time,” recalled Bishop, noting Lawrence said he didn’t require assistance but he would like to volunteer.

“When the Feed Nova Scotia truck arrives, it’s loaded with cartons of heavy canned goods and food. Harley arrived every morning, usually the first volunteer on site, and he would help us unload those trucks,” said Bishop.

“We were trying to find a way that we could express our appreciation to Harley for helping and he said, ‘Well, a few goodies would be nice,” said Bishop.

“It was then I discovered that Harley had a sweet tooth and what he meant by a few goodies were as many cookies as we could let him have,” he said, as the crowd gathered at the memorial shared a laugh.

A hard worker 

Although homeless and fighting mental illness, Lawrence always offered to lend a hand, whatever the cause, and in whatever community he was living.

When he was in Hantsport, on Sundays, Lawrence would be the last person to enter the Hantsport Baptist Church before the service began, sitting in the last pew, and slipping back out as soon as the service ended. Bishop said when the Sunday School rooms were destroyed by floodwater, Lawrence “was the first to volunteer.”

He did such a good job cleaning up after the flood, he was hired for three weeks to paint and complete necessary repairs.

In 2010, the historical society noticed the Riverbank Cemetery “was starting to fall into a state of disrepair.” Lawrence was one of the dozens of people who helped rid the cemetery of diseased or broken trees and repair damaged headstones.

“People got to know Harley not as the homeless man in town, but as a fellow volunteer,” said Bishop.

“And so instead of shunning Harley, when he was on the park bench on Main Street, people would stop by and ask him how he was doing today and maybe offer him a coffee or whatever. And, Harley appreciated that. He really did.”

Soon after, Lawrence was on the move again, this time relocating to Cow Bay for a spell before travelling to other communities.

Tragedy remembered

In the fall of 2013, Lawrence had been living in Berwick for about eight months and frequently took refuge in the town’s bus shelter at night.

In the wee morning hours of Oct. 23, Daniel Wayne Surette and Kyle David James Fredericks purchased $10 worth of gasoline. They found Lawrence asleep in the bus shelter, doused him with the fuel and lit him on fire. After an extensive investigation, the men eventually admitted to killing the 62-year-old. They were sentenced in 2015 to life with prison, with no chance of parole for 18 and 20 years, for the second-degree murder.

“I was deeply shocked and saddened as everybody was,” said Bishop when he learned Lawrence was murdered, noting he had lost contact with him a couple years prior.

Like many in the Annapolis Valley, Lawrence was the first homeless person that Bishop had encountered.

“His death sparked a conversation about homelessness and mental illness,” Bishop added.

Several members of Lawrence’s family attended the Oct. 22 service in Hantsport, including Ron Lawrence, who was 11 years younger than his brother.

“It’s nice that people are remembering the past and what happened to him, and… they’re recognizing his service and what he did,” said Ron Lawrence, noting he hopes in the future, more progress will be made to improve mental health services and help the homeless population.

“There’s a lot of problems now with homelessness and stuff like that. It’s only going to get worse.”

And a cookie cutter solution will not address the issue, he said.

He’d like to see a wide array of housing options available – from group homes and apartments to secure camping sites.

“They’ve got to go to the people themselves to see what they need to survive,” said Ron Lawrence. “You can’t just take a building, put it up and say here is your building. … Some people can’t sleep in places like that. It all depends on their mental state at the time.”

His late brother, who had paranoia, often preferred sleeping outdoors or in open spaces.

“Out in the open was more relaxing to him. I’m not sure why,” he said.

Enjoyed helping others

Richard Passmore, who lives in Dartmouth, knew Lawrence for about 20 years, and said Lawrence would often do work for him and his neighbours.

“I remember him as a kind person who’d do anything for anybody.”

For a time, Passmore said Lawrence lived in community housing in downtown Halifax, but it didn’t work out.

“I used to go and pick him up and he’d do some work for me and then I’d take him back there. One day he showed up at my place and said, ‘Oh they threw me out. They won’t let me back in.’ It was a Sunday afternoon and then he stayed with me for three years,” said Passmore, noting Lawrence did odd jobs like gardening and snow removal.

When he was in Cow Bay, he was tending horses at Passmore’s sister’s farm.

“It’s very important to honour him. He was quite a fellow,” said Passmore. “I remember him quite fondly.”

Bishop said it wasn’t unusual to see Lawrence resting outdoors. When he was volunteering to repair the cemetery, he often slept under the large oak tree, which explained how he was always able to beat other volunteers to the work site.

“The man had a work ethic. He had a sense of humour. Now don’t get me wrong, he also had his side that sometimes drove me crazy. And I’m sure that for the family, they struggled over the years. It’s very difficult at times to help an individual who has a mental illness,” said Bishop, noting society needs to learn how to engage with people with mental illness and offer support.

Must ‘do better’

Lawrence’s family and friends say it doesn’t feel like a decade has passed since his life was cut short.

“It’s hard to believe it’s 10 years already. It went by so fast,” said Ron Lawrence, noting he was planning to spend the anniversary in Berwick, speaking with the mayor and visiting Lawrence’s memorial.

His message going forward is simply for society to “do better” – to make progress on helping homeless people connect with the resources that will help them and providing them multiple housing options.

He said the family is also very grateful that people still remember Lawrence and show appreciation for the man he was.

“I’m glad to see people thinking of the past and I hope we don’t make the same mistakes in the present and in the future,” Ron Lawrence said.

Bishop said Lawrence may have been homeless, but that wasn’t what defined him. He was kind, giving of himself, and had hopes and dreams. He wanted to one day build a cabin in the woods.

“Perhaps Harley being here in our community in those last few years before his life ended, awakened many people to realize that he’s just another person with hopes and dreams, the same as everybody else, but also with struggles, the same as everybody else.”