9 December 2019
I learned on Monday morning that former high school mate, Lorne Charlton, had passed away, at 62 years of age. At a time when Canadian men have an average life expectancy of just less than 81 years, it seems he, and we, were shortchanged by a full quarter, though those be dangerous odds to play.
I didn't know Lorne well, but he was one of those guys I occasionally shared cigarettes with, in the Reynolds Street smoking pit of Oakville Trafalgar High School. At that time, in the 1970s, the smoking pit was the south end of a sort of double courtyard that had resulted from so many additions to the original school. Students from the older part of town, east of the school, would enter through that courtyard stairway or through the biology wing.
I don't think Lorne tried to convey physical toughness but nor did he come across as a pushover. From what I knew of him, the most dramatic part of his personality was expressed through his arrival and departure via the Reynolds Street parking lot. Lorne road a motorbike, or maybe a series of motorbikes. And he rode them hard. And fast.
When Lorne entered the lot, or exited, you heard it. He flew in and braked quietly, expertly, toward his typical location near the old garage where the high-jump landing nets, full of foam, were kept. Upon silencing the bike, he removed his helmet, held it under his left arm and reached for the upper left pocket of his jeans jacket. For a cigarette. Within a few steps, he had one fired up and resting happily between his lips, smoke trailing his path northward along the older math classes.
He was a pretty quiet guy. I sensed loneliness and talent in Lorne that I never really had confirmed or denied. I hope he found and exercised the talent I was sensing under that locked-down exterior. The obituary said he spent some of his last days in Wyndham Manor, a chronic care facility that happens to sit atop the old high school parking lot. I'm sure Lorne noticed that, too.
If I am correct, Lorne’s father was Robert Charlton and he had two siblings , Bonnie and Wayne. My Mother was his aunt Rhoda Marie (Charlton) Adams.
Hello, Robert, and thank you for the comment. I remember the names Bonnie & Wayne but they were both older so I never knew them at school with Lorne. I used to ride a motocross bike and probably got to know Lorne there and at school. He was a good guy.
Hi Dan, that’s a really nice post you wrote about Lorne. Lorne was a buddy of my brother Chris. Chris would bring Lorne over to the house after school and Lorne would do an Elvis impersonation of Blue Suede Shoes. My brother Paul and I were 3 and 4 years younger than Lorne and found his impersonation so funny. Every time that Lorne came over to visit we pestered him to do his Elvis, and he always obliged. What a good sport and nice guy he was. I was so sorry to hear of his passing.
From my memory of his voice & manner, Peter, he probably did Elvis pretty well. Thank you for sharing that. I was gutted that he had so short a run but am glad you got to know him. Be well and thank you for taking the time to comment.