“To live in this world

you must be able

to do three things:

to love what is mortal;

to hold it

against your bones knowing

your own life depends on it;

and, when the time comes to let it go,

to let it go.”

-Mary Oliver (Blackwater)

It is with shattered hearts we share the passing of Larry Donald Smith, loving husband of Mark Pogachefsky, father of Gemma James Smith (Gil Garratt), relentlessly doting grandfather of Ghid Garratt, Gulliver Garratt, Goldie-Jack Garratt, and Gloria Garratt. Larry was the loving brother-in-law of Ira (Judi) Pogachefsky, and their daughter Carly.

Larry is predeceased by his father Alan Smith and mother Wilma (Wismer). He leaves behind his devoted siblings, Rob Smith (Lynna), and Pat Nicholsen (Greg). Larry was also the affectionate and caring uncle of Ariel, Matthew, Daniel, Shannon, Brittany, and Ainsley.

Larry was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, and grew up in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba. He finished high school in PEI, where he received a full scholarship to attend UPEI, before finishing his Bachelor’s degree at the University of Calgary.

Larry had a passion for live theatre and classic cinema. He acted in several productions in Calgary in the 80s & 90s, and later wrote his own one-man show ‘Finders Keepers’, performing it in the Toronto and Calgary Fringe Festivals. Larry’s love of acting also took a central role in his life in his last decade when he joined MAP Acting Studio and took up auditioning for film and TV roles (fun credits include a Sabrina Carpenter music video, the documentary Modern Whore, and 2024’s holiday movie, Last Ex-Mas).

Larry was a voracious reader and especially loved contemporary Canadian fiction. If it was on a shortlist somewhere, chances are Larry had read it.

Larry had an eclectic and adventurous working life…from modeling, to teaching on reserve in Alert Bay, to being a professor of drama at the University of Calgary, to being the General Manager of Calgary’s Quest Theatre, to the Ontario Prosecutors’ Office, to Certified Reiki Practitioner, to the Ministry of Education.

Larry was also a dedicated volunteer for several years at Romero House in Toronto, a charity for refugee resettlement, where he also served on the Board of Directors.

Always searching for new communities of belonging Larry took up a staggering array of hobbies and spiritual pursuits, from Yoga to Qi-Gong to Singing Lessons to Piano playing to a brief attempt to join a Jesuit Monastery.

Together since 2018, Larry and his husband Mark, split their time between Toronto and Los Angeles. The two traveled the world together, seeing India, Brazil, Italy, Spain, and Mexico along with frequent trips to Broadway to see everything from King Lear with Glenda Jackson to Sweeney Todd with Josh Grobin.

Larry was also unrepentant about letting dogs lick his face, loved a decent latte, and wrote fan mail to Julie Newmar when he was a little boy in rural Manitoba.

In recent years, Larry’s favourite place to travel was to his daughter Gemma’s lavender farm, in Bayfield, Ontario, where he could routinely be seen in technicolour dress-up clothes, playing extended, hours-long, games of make-believe with his granddaughters or taking them for ice-cream in town. Larry was also immensely proud of his beloved step-grandchildren, Ghid and Gulliver, and cherished the opportunity to watch them grow from little kids into young adults.

Every summer since 2014, Larry also loved to attend the Blyth Festival, in Blyth, Ontario, where his son-in-law is the artistic director. Together Mark and Larry were proud Blyth Festival members.

Larry’s family are grateful to the doctors and nurses at Sunnybrook Hospital, for their dedication and generosity. His diagnosis with late-stage pancreatic cancer in March of this year was a shock to us all. We miss him deeply.