Lawrence Maurice Paradee

Lawrence Maurice Paradee (Larry), 82, of Katy, Texas and former long-time resident of Amarillo, Texas, peacefully joined his Heavenly Father on March 3, 2019 surrounded by his loving family. Services to celebrate Larry will be held at 2:00 pm Saturday, March 9, 2019 in LaGrone Blackburn Shaw Coulter Road Chapel with Rev. Ken Cole officiating. Burial will follow in Memory Gardens Cemetery. Arrangements are under the personal care of LaGrone Blackburn Shaw Funeral Directors, 8310 S. Coulter Road.

Lawrence Maurice Paradee was born on July 5, 1936, in High River, Alberta, Canada to Maurice Joseph Paradee and Ruby Olive Woolridge. Larry has a brother, David Wayne Paradee of Tabor, Alberta, Canada, and a sister, Marilyn Dianne (Paradee) Schindel of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Larry attended grade school in Blackie, Alberta, Canada and graduated from Deming High School in Deming, New Mexico. Larry holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from New Mexico State University. He married Peggy Ann Hughes of Roswell, New Mexico on September 2, 1961 and became a citizen of the United States of America in April 1966. Larry retired from the Department of Energy at Pantex in Amarillo, Texas.

Larry is preceded in death by his father Maurice Joseph, 70, who passed away on February 24, 1982, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and his mother Ruby Olive, 86, who passed away on December 19, 1999, in Taber, Alberta, Canada.

Larry is survived by his loving wife Peggy Ann (Hughes) Paradee (Katy, Texas), three children, Susan Laureen (Lari) Paradee, Sherron (Sheri) Maureen Paradee and Craig Maurice Paradee, and three grandchildren Liam Maurice, Lola Rose and Mila Olive Paradee (Houston, Texas) and brother, David Wayne Paradee and family (Taber, Alberta, Canada) and sister, Marilyn Dianne (Paradee) Schindel and family (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada).


Tribute to Larry

We are gathered together today to celebrate the life of Lawrence Maurice Paradee (Larry), 82, of Katy, Texas and former long-time resident of Amarillo, Texas, who peacefully joined his Heavenly Father on March 3, 2019 surrounded by his loving family.
Larry is a husband, father, grandfather, uncle, son, brother and friend. When Lawrence Maurice Paradee was born on July 5, 1936, in High River, Alberta, Canada, his father, Maurice (Morris) Joseph Paradee, was 25 and his mother, Ruby Olive Woolridge, was 22. Larry was the oldest and has a brother, David Wayne and a sister, Marilyn Dianne. Larry attended grade school in Blackie, Alberta, Canada.
Shortly after his 16th birthday, Larry lost a portion of his left lung to disease and needed a drier/warmer climate for his health. In August 1952, his mother arranged for Larry to fly to Deming, New Mexico where he lived in a boarding house until May 1955 when Larry graduated from Deming High School. In 1955, Larry began his Naturalization papers to become a United States Citizen with a Declaration of Intention in 1961 and became a citizen of the United States of America on April 18, 1966.
Larry met the love of his life at New Mexico State University, Miss Peggy Ann Hughes. They started dating in 1959 and enjoyed campus life and were active in their Sororities and Fraternities. Larry was an excellent student, was on the Dean’s Honor List and was an Officer in the Sigma Tau Fraternity, National Honor Society of Engineers and a member of Alpha Gamma Rho. In May 1960, Larry and Peggy were Delta Zeta’s Dream Girl and Man.
Larry received his Bachelor of Science Degree from New Mexico State University in Civil Engineering and his Dream Girl, Peggy, received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration.
At 25, Larry married Peggy Ann Hughes on September 2, 1961 in Roswell, New Mexico. Their wedding was held at the First Methodist Church and was performed by Dr. Austin H. Dillon. Shirley Atchley sang, “I Love You Truly.” After their wedding, Larry and Peggy made their home in El Paso, Texas where they started their careers and family. Larry was Senior Engineering Assistant for the Texas Highway Department and Peggy Ann was the school Auditor for El Paso Public Schools. Susan Laureen (Lari) was born on April 2, 1963, a few months before Larry and Peggy moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico where Larry worked for a private architectural and engineering firm designing roads and bridges in New Mexico. He was extremely proud of a particular bridge he designed in Albuquerque and was involved in its construction to completion and Lari, Sheri and Craig remember him reminding them that he designed it every time they drove over it. Sherron Maureen (Sheri) was born on January 18, 1966 and Craig Maurice followed a few years later on November 17, 1968 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
In 1972, Larry joined the Department of Energy at Sandia Base in Albuquerque and in 1973, was transferred to the Department of Energy at Pantex in Amarillo, Texas in the weapons program. In February 1974, Peggy and the children joined Larry in Amarillo, Texas. Together, Larry and Peggy enjoyed watching their children grow and develop. They often spent weekends traveling to swim meets throughout Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma as they loved and supported their children in their sports and interests. Many summer vacations and Christmas breaks were spent traveling to Canada to visit Larry’s family. In a blink, Lari, Sheri and Craig were off to college and their own careers. Larry and Peggy were proud of them and their choices.
On June 26, 1999, their son, Craig married Summer Deming in Houston, Texas and on August 20, 2002, Liam Maurice Paradee was born and you couldn’t have seen two happier grandparents than Larry and Peggy. On November 29, 2004, Liam was joined by his new baby sister Lola Rose and on August 13, 2007, sweet Mila Olive joined the family.
Larry retired from the Department of Energy at Pantex in 1994 to enjoy golf, bridge, bowling, walking, morning coffee and donuts with fellow Pantex retirees and tinkering with things around the house. They traveled to Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, the Caribbean and to the east and west coasts of the US and enjoyed visiting their children and grandchildren in Houston, Texas.
In 2016, they sold their home in Amarillo they had lived in for almost 45 years and moved to Katy, Texas to be near their children and grandchildren.
Larry has often been described as a kind and gentle man. He has great love for his wife Peggy Ann and his children, Lari, Sheri and Craig and he adores his grandchildren, Liam, Lola and Mila. We will always remember his laugh, his smile, his patience and his enduring love.