Remembering Don

One of the neater things that resulted directly from working at Barrie Central are the "Old Fart" bi-weekly meetings at McReilly's Irish Pub in downtown Barrie, a regular sharing of what has transpired, what caused some contemplation, or what stirred the pot a little. The stories are almost always punctuated with laughter, and the banter is consistently witty.

One of the quickest, sharpest minds belonged to Don Lillow, former head of science at ol' BCC, his quips delivered with a mischievous grin. I say that in the past tense because through a stroke of incredibly bad fortune, Don's health turned for the worse, leading ultimately to his passing away at the beginning of the summer. It's been a rough stretch for the Lillow clan with Don's beloved bride Betty passing in early June.

Based on the avalanche of sympathies with Don's obituary hitting the Internet, both he and Betty were popular teachers who impacted generations of Central students. 

Don was infamous for playing practical jokes on his friends. Armed with a bountiful amount of science knowledge, his pranks were often augmented by some harmless pyrotechnics or audiotechnics. While the bulk of his devilish nature was reserved for his colleagues, his students were occasionally the target, usually a reciprocation for some grief they gave him. One of his favourites, if my memory serves me well, was Ammonium Triphosphate, a clear liquid that becomes unstable when dried, meaning physical pressure like heavy steps or sitting down onto a chair results in a shockingly loud bang. I'm sure you can imagine the result of a targeted student sitting quickly into their desk only to be startled by 4 bangs not unlike a series of firecrackers.

Having recently reached his 81st birthday, Don had been retired for a sizeable length of time, and was a regular at the previously mentioned meetings, kind of the Frank Sinatra of the BCC 'Brat Pack'. 

The last meeting we had was dedicated to remembering Don, and reacquainting ourselves with the plethora of stories centered around Don's influence. While no laws or policies were broken during any of those memory-makers, many are not really something that should be put out there into cyberspace, but suffice it to say that there are some duzers! 

A young gentleman named Tyson tends the bar at McReilly's, and he is regularly in charge of servicing our thirst. He's a likeable, pleasant, quick-with-a-smile type of guy. At the end of our time on that particular day, we pulled out our wallets to pay for the night's libations, only to be greeted by his double palmed resistance "your money is no good tonight" for covering the tab in Don's honour. After recovering from our shock, expressing our gratitude for his generosity, and putting up a slight argument, we quickly deposited our shekels in the center of the table like so many would do in the same situation, our intention to leave him a substantial tip. A credit to the type of person he is, Tyson quickly ... and loudly ... announced that any money left would be swept into the garbage so make sure to take every last dollar. 

We're old and stubborn, if I'm honest, and the pile of cash was left anyway, prompting Tyson to shove it my way as the final member leaving the table, requesting that I take it as a donation to the Lillow family in McReilly's honour. 

In a shameless plug for business, if you experience the urge for a pint or some good eats, and you're in downtown Barrie, might you consider popping into McReilly's as a small payback in Don Lillow's honour? 

Our little gang would greatly appreciate it!

RIP Don and Betty Lillow! Your influence has helped shape multiple generations!