I heard the sad news that Mr Lloyd Candow died on Friday Dec 3rd,2010. But happily he did not die alone but at the Western Memorial Hospital in Corner Brook with his son Chris by his bedside. That was always my worry, ...that this witty humorous old gentleman would die alone in his cabin in Pasadena. I thank God he didn't.
Lloyd Candow will always be remembered by many as the man who wrote the Newfoundland song "Some Shockin' Good". It's a cute song about the grandkids from "Upalong" travelling back home to stay with their grandparents and all the neat stuff they do back home in Newfoundland...which of course is all "Some shockin good!"
But to me Lloyd will be remembered as the man I used to visit often in his little recluse cabin in the woods. I enjoyed his wit, his humour, his outlook on life, and his inventions. He was truly an entrepreneur who made up games that should have been marketed. He was also a creator and collector of witty sayings and,... after telling him many times that he should write a book,... he did!
Lloyd Candow complied a 139 pages of witty sayings,... all one finger pecked on a computer his son Chris gave him as a way to pass the time. He made a special friend named June in Australia through an internet chatroom and both of them put together an entire manuscript...cover and all...and published it in Calgary since a local publishing firm in Corner Brook asked too high a price. The book was called: "A Collection of Some Shockin' Good Smiles - For Seniors!" and it was a hit. Some stuff was pretty risque, but when I mentioned that to Lloyd his response to me was, "Hey you young pup...what are you reading that for? It's for Seniors!"
I'm not sure where Lloyd got them but he said to me one day, "Mike, I'm reading a book about anti-gravity and I just can't put it down." Well Lloyd's book is like that......you just keep turning and turning the pages with the big print for Seniors and smiling.
I'm not sure when Lloyd was born, but this octogenarian was at least 84 and was born in a part of Corner Brook, Newfoundland, called Georgetown, Bay of Islands. His good friend and buddy since youth, Dr. Charlie O'Connell, said this of Lloyd: "Lloyd Candow is a true son of Newfoundland. He loves the people, the songs, the music and the culture that makes this island what it is. I am some shockin' lucky to be among his friends."
I too was happy to be his friend who got to know him, help him, and laugh with him. I'm sure if Lloyd could still be around, he'd be singing his own words from his famous song,
"A grand old place to visit, we'd stay here if we could,
It's nice to live where everything is some shockin' good."
Lloyd, may you rest in Peace.
My sincere condolences to his son Chris and all his other family members and friends!
