Pauline Lawrence (née Loultcheva)

In loving memory of Pauline Lawrence (née Loultcheva) in her 81st year, who passed away on Friday, December 1st, 2023 at Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital.

She was the cherished wife of William “Bill” Lawrence, of Maple. Mother of John Lawrence (Selena) of Barrie and Thomas Lawrence (Jill) of Saguenay. Most of all though, she was the treasured Baba of Gideon and Georgia Lawrence.

Pauline is predeceased by her parents, Milko Loultchev and Dobrinka (née Stambolieva) Loultcheva. She will be greatly missed by her sister, Angelina Loultcheva (Ivan Koukouvanov, predeceased) and nieces Maria Al-Hussein (Mohamed) and Emilia Koukouvanova, as well as their families in Edmonton.

Born April 17th, 1942 in Sofia, Bulgaria, as a youth, Pauline enjoyed painting and was an accomplished cellist. She completed her professional studies in Mining Engineering and, in the early 1970s, made the courageous decision to immigrate, on her own, to Canada. First settling in Montréal, Pauline eventually moved to Toronto to pursue her career of 20+ years as a Mining Engineer, specializing in Open Pit Coal Mining.

Pauline founded the Association of Bulgarian Engineers in Canada (ABEC) and held the position of Founding President, until 2015, when she decided it was time to step down and enjoy her retirement. Through ABEC, she helped other Engineers through the process of having their professional accreditation recognized in Canada and created a network connecting them with resources through universities and private companies. One of the things Pauline greatly enjoyed and looked forward to every year, was ABEC picnic. In 2016, Pauline had the great honour of being presented a “Woman of the Year” award from the Republic of Bulgaria’s State Agency for Bulgarians Abroad, for her contributions and hard work with ABEC.

Pauline was so incredibly proud of her boys and her grandchildren; we will miss the way she would shake her head and laugh at something that they had done or said. Her voice, with that sweet heavy Bulgarian accent is now quiet.