Lawrence C. Manning

Lawrence "Lawrie" Charles Manning, age 86 of Wakefield, died Monday, July 5 at the Benchmark Senior Living Community in Woburn. The Manning Family wish to thank the Benchmark staff for their kind, caring support and guidance during Mr. Manning's residency there. Born in Wellesley Hills on June 13, 1935 Lawrence Manning was the son of the late Harold Manning and Viola (Grover) Manning-Trenholm. Mr. Manning was born a second twin minutes after midnight, giving him a different birth date than that of his sister Louise who was born minutes before midnight. The two were raised in the town of Wellesley as the Manning Twins, community celebrities due to their mother's savvy habit of entering them in photo contests that endorsed the First National Stores supermarket. Mr. Manning was an eager participant of the Boy Rangers (precursor to Boy Scouts of America), was educated at Newton High School, then went on to learn the electrical trade at the Wentworth Institute of Technology. Upon finishing his schooling, he worked for the Town of Wellesley for a brief time, then with Reynolds Electric before going on to start his own electrical contracting business in 1958. In May of 1959 he met his bride-to-be, Dorothy Adelaide Roche, on a blind date—for which Mr. Manning (not known for lightness of foot) deftly avoided a public dance floor by feigning a foot injury and instead took Ms. Roche on a more intimate, afternoon boating excursion on Morses Pond. He charmed her for months thereafter until finally the two wed in October of that same year. The young couple first lived in Newton, and Mr. Manning served in the U.S. National Guard. Then the Mannings moved to Framingham where they spent a number of years raising their family of four children. Mr. and Mrs. Manning owned and operated Manning Electric—"Large or Small, We Wire Them All"—until they retired from the business in 1988 and focused solely on their second career in property management. They took great pride in their properties located in Moody Beach, ME, especially a beloved cottage called The Dorothy Adelaide which was their "sanctuary" for 35 years. There they entertained many cottage renters over the years, including their dear, long-time friends Barbara and Peter Howatt of Ottawa, Ontario. Mr. Manning was the beloved husband of Dorothy (Roche) Manning. He was the loving brother-in-law of Claire Fitzgerald of Centerville, father of Lawrence C. Manning Jr. and his wife Kristin Soule of East Boston, Dorothy "Dot" Burr of Merrimack, NH, Laura Manning and her wife Natasha Saje of Salt Lake City, UT, and Mary Beth Manning and her husband Dan Craner of Sandy, UT. He was the twin brother of Louise Flynn of Manchester, NH. He was the grandfather of Ryan Moreau of Milton, GA, Alyson Manning of Washington, DC, Kaitlyn Manning of New York, NY, Cameron Manning of Wakefield, Kevin Manning of Wakefield, Erin Soule of West Hollywood, CA, Jack Soule of Weymouth, Sara Soule of Weymouth, and Katelyn Conlon of South Boston. A private, family Celebration of Life ceremony is being planned for a date in the near future. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Alzheimer's Association, 309 Waverley Oaks Rd, Waltham, MA 02452.