Mr. Jacob Claude Lawrence

Claude was born on October 1, 1953 at home in Heliopolis, Cairo, Egypt, into a large, loving, Sephardic Jewish family. His name at birth was Jacob Claude Levy. He was the youngest of 8 children. Gido, Roger, Benoit, Berto, Andre, Coucla, Etty and Claude. With a 25 year age gap between Claude and Gido, the eldest 4 siblings had already left home by the time Claude was born. Despite the difficult political climate in Egypt, he had a happy childhood which included many summer vacations to the beaches of Alexandria and trips to the pyramids. Unfortunately his loving family could not always sheild him from the anti-semitism that was rife in Egypt at the time.

At the age of 13, Claude, his sister Etty and their parents, Samuel and Marcelle, were forced to leave Egypt after the 6 Day War in 1967.They went to join Claude's oldest sister Gido, in London, England. As French and Arabic were Claude's first languages, it was here that he learned English. Claude completed Secondary School in London at Quintin Kynaston Academy. After accepting a job with Gala Cosmetics International as their Middle Eastern representative, it was suggested to him for his safety and travel reasons that he change his Jewish surname. Thus, Claude Lawrence was born.

He moved to Vancouver, Canada in 1975. Claude never intended to live here permanently but the lure of free hot water, beautiful scenery and job opportunities convinced him otherwise. Canada was the first country to give Claude citizenship. It was here that he started his hotel career at the Hyatt Regency Hotel Vancouver as a Front Desk Clerk. Claude held various roles and positions at several different hotels throughout the 1970's and 1980's.

In 1987, Claude met his beloved wife Sandra and they married shortly there after. They were introduced by Sandra's childhood best friend Debby who happened to be a work colleague of Claude's. They had 3 children, David, Hannah and Benjamin, the loves of his life. After the children were born they moved to Coquitlam. For many years the family attended Friendship Baptist Church where Claude was involved with the Worship Ministry, both as a team member and Worship Leader. He was a gifted, self-taught musician. His favourite instruments to play were the piano and the conga drums, and he also loved to sing. In 2007, Claude was very happy to be able to take his wife and children to meet his entire family in England, France and Israel. It was a trip of a lifetime.

In 2013, Claude was diagnosed with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. He continued his normal everyday life despite the diagnosis. In 2014, Claude, Sandra and Hannah started attending Shabbat Shel Shalom Messianic Fellowship. He was so happy to worship Yeshua in the fullness of his Jewish heritage.

In late 2016, sadly Claude's health started to rapidly decline. On September 15, 2017, Claude received a double lung transplant. This gift of life gave Claude another 5 and a half years with us. It enabled him to return to Israel once more and spend precious time with his family. On February 11, 2023, at the age of 69, after a long battle that included many illnesses and hospitalizations, Claude, surrounded by his beloved wife and children, went home to be with Yeshua.

A service for Claude will be held Saturday, February 25, 2023 from 11:00 AM with a reception to follow at Friendship Baptist Church, 2950 Dewdney Trunk Rd, Coquitlam, BC V3C 6E7.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.firstmemorialportcoquitlam.com for the Lawrence family.