Lloyd Henry was born at home, in the kitchen, on the 8th of Elderslie, on January 6, 1938, during a snowstorm, to parents George and Essie (Dailey) Mannerow. What an entrance! 🙂 He joined older siblings Isabelle (1932) and Ken (1934). When Lloyd was 2, the Mannerow family purchased the Devonshire Dairy Farm on the Bentinck Sullivan Townline from the Tolchard family. The farm was soon renamed Gay Meadows and the Mannerows quickly settled in. Here Lloyd attended S.S. #9 on the 12th of Sullivan and the family soon welcomed youngest siblings, Dianne (1949) and Reg (1950).
The Mannerows raised a variety of animals on their mixed farm and before long Lloyd was off to high school. Like many of us, school was not his forte, and Lloyd remained enrolled for only a short time before returning to the farm to help his dad. In the summer months, Lloyd and his brother Ken would head to Port Elgin daily to help harvest tobacco, returning home in the evenings to their responsibilities on the farm. On occasion, Lloyd would get away from the farm. He enjoyed playing broomball in his youth and often attended local dances on Saturday evenings. On one such Saturday in 1963, he attended a dance at the Owen Sound Coliseum where he met a beautiful young lady by the name of Marjorie Irene McGregor. By the summer the young couple were dating and they were wed on June 13, 1964 at Kemble United Church.
Once married, Lloyd and Marjorie settled on the home farm with Lloyd’s parents and younger siblings. This arrangement remained until 1968 when George and Essie retired and moved to Scone. The Mannerow family soon began to grow with the arrivals of Andrea (1965), Cheryl (1966), Jenny (1972) and Greg (1975). As you can imagine life was very busy on the farm. Lloyd and family milked cows and raised chickens, sheep and pigs. In later years, Lloyd moved away from dairy and had a cow/calf operation. Many memories were made growing up on the family farm including the chop cart rides, Sunday afternoon drives and the wide variety of family pets, including Buck the pet lamb… I am told he thought he was a dog! 🙂 Lloyd always enjoyed caring for the young animals and usually had a dog at his side to keep him company throughout the day.
During his early years on the farm, Lloyd worked for Tam Stevenson Plumbing & Heating for several years. This change of work allowed Lloyd to get out and engage more socially with the public. He absolutely loved people and interacting with them. In his younger years, Lloyd was very active within his community as he was a member of the Junior Farmers organization, 4-H and eventually became involved with the Chesley Agricultural Society at the young age of 14. As you already know Lloyd enjoyed dancing and participated in a variety of square dancing competitions including one at the Circle 8 Ranch. In 2000, Lloyd ran for and was elected to Bentinck Township council. He was also active within his church, Geneva Presbyterian in Chesley, holding a variety of positions through the years including time as chairman and a member of the Board of Managers. Lloyd and Marjorie also volunteered their time when Grey County hosted the International Plowing Match in 1987 and 2004, working in the RV department.
In his limited free time, Lloyd enjoyed curling and together with Marjorie were also members of the “Easy Riders” and Chesley Snowmobile Club. Like most farmers, an enjoyable outing was also heading to the sales barn. Lloyd loved collecting antiques. It was often a running joke between Lloyd, Marjorie and the kids on whether his findings were actual antiques, his treasurers or just junk! 🙂 In Lloyd’s eyes all of his treasurers were valuable, he just had to find the right person to sell them too! Likewise, every collected piece had a story which Lloyd enjoyed sharing. He was also known to collect his fair share of rocks. I am told his collection was quite extensive and can be enjoyed walking around their property.
In 2004, Lloyd and Marjorie sold the farm, retiring, and moved a little east down the road. As the saying goes, you can take the man off the farm, but you can’t take the farm out of the man! Lloyd was no exception. Even in his retirement, you never dared to talk while he was listening to the daily farm report! Lloyd continued to give back by driving local Mennonites. Retirement also afforded the Mannerows to travel more. Together they explored Canada coast to coast, even taking in the Calgary Stampede, and often headed south with family or their frequent travel companions and good friends, Kent and Sue Young. They explored the likes of Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Las Vegas and Florida, just to name a few, always enjoying their time away. In May of 2019, Lloyd and Marj enjoyed the trip of a lifetime with their four children. The six of them spent two weeks exploring everything Northern Ireland, Ireland and Scotland had to offer and created many memorable memories. All of them were so thankful for this last family trip together! Back at home, Lloyd enjoyed watching the Discovery or History channels and loved his meat and potatoes… big surprise! I am also told he had a soft spot for Dutch Apple pies and loved his chocolate.
Lloyd was a friendly, fun-loving man, who loved story-telling. He loved people and any opportunity to interact with them, especially a good party. These social gatherings usually included a good glass of Merlot or a rye and Pepsi. Lloyd was also very particular, especially about his hair… just ask Marj or the kids! 🙂 He, however, was not very punctual, and on numerous occasions was late for an event or gathering. The running joke within the family was that if you wanted Lloyd in attendance you had to provide him an earlier start time. Lloyd always worked hard and successfully passed down this work ethic to his children. If there was a job to be done, he would insist that you don’t procrastinate and get it done right the first time! He appreciated a job well done and always took the time to appreciate the accomplishment. These traits and many others have been passed down to his children and grandchildren.
Sadly, Lloyd was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2019. In the days and months that followed, he made the best of each day. His last project included restoring an old Ford tractor in Marjorie’s garden shed. His work was never complete! In recent weeks Lloyd’s health continued to decline and he passed away surrounded by his loving family on Saturday, November 21, 2020 in his 83rd year. Beloved husband of Marjorie (McGregor). Loving father of Andrea Mannerow of Fergus, Cheryl (Dennis) McIlvenna of Owen Sound, Jenny (Parker) Wallace of Kemble and Greg Mannerow of Fergus. Cherished grandfather of Garrett (Martina), Brant, Marley and Ava. Lloyd will be dearly missed by his siblings Isabelle (Leith) Elder of Tara, Dianne (Ross) King of Chesley and Reg (Dayle) Mannerow of R.R. #1 Chesley, sister-in-law Julia McGregor as well as the entire Mannerow and McGregor families. He was predeceased by his brother Ken (Jean) Mannerow, parents George and Essie (Dailey) Mannerow, brothers-in-law Harry McGregor, Jack (Shirley) McGregor and sister-in-law Shirley (Colin) MacKinnon.
Lloyd’s family will be honouring his life privately. Inurnment in Chesley Cemetery.
Memorial donations to Chapman House, Canadian Cancer Society or the charity of your choice would be appreciated as expressions of sympathy.
