Dr. Lawrence Victor Saxton

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The University of Regina has lost one of its long-term members, Dr. Lawrence (Larry) Saxton, who served the Department of Computer Science from 1973 until his retirement in 2011. We remember him as a respected professor, a fine scholar, a supportive colleague, and a wonderful friend. The flag on campus will be flown at half mast on Friday, October 28, 2022 in memory of him.                                                    

Larry told stories that were "sometimes interesting, sometimes educational, and sometimes a bit tall ;-)”. His nephew, Brad Saxton, says that this trait runs in his family. We honour Larry with a sampling of stories about him from colleagues, friends, and students. Please honour Larry by sharing your favourite stories of him online at:

https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/wolseley-sk/lawrence-saxton-10976558 

“I met Larry as a fellow graduate student at Waterloo in 1968. What began as a discussion of the best Automata Theory course to take (yes, there were several from which to choose) turned into a regular lunch-hour game of Hearts with Fred Laidman and Walt Finden. The primary aim was to incorporate the wildest card passing requirements we could into each hand. It was great fun and so much more interesting than Automata Theory. When I came to Regina, I let Larry know that the CS Department was hiring, and the rest became history. I miss the card playing graduate student days, but smile whenever I remember some of Larry’s stories about card playing in Las Vegas.”

“I will miss the lengthy discussions I had with him. Larry was always excited to describe the first years of our CS Department, including the first hires who joined the unit.”

“I first met Larry when he joined the fledgling CS Department in 1973. Those first few years were particularly heady for CS, with undergraduate programs to expand and deliver, graduate courses to develop, and campus mainframe computing resources to expand. As he did throughout his entire career, Larry pitched in to develop the CS Department to its very best, in all ways.”

“Larry was an exemplary faculty member with his lifetime dedication to undergraduate students, to graduate students and their programs, and to colleagues and friends throughout the University. He made his part of academia a better place in many ways.”

“I knew of the research done by Larry Saxton long before I joined the CS Department. He was a co-author of some of the first research papers that I read.”

“He was one of the best professors in Computer Science when we were graduate students. He was a wise, positive, and helpful professor to us students. Talking with him was always a joy and a learning experience. At a time when the Web did not exist, Dr. Saxton was a wonderful resource. Whenever we needed to find papers on a specific topic, we went to see Dr. Saxton. He not only gave us a couple of papers, but also a long lecture. We learned a great deal from him.”

“Larry had an amazing talent for lecturing and could present the most challenging topics in an understandable way. That influenced my own style once I became a professor. I enjoyed our many discussions as well as our many tennis matches. I will never forget his stories, as well as his wisdom, humour, generosity, and kindness.”

“Larry became a devoted fan of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, holding season tickets for decades. Larry was an athlete in his youth, and he could tell you stories about that too.”

“He had a good sense of humour, although sometimes I did not recognize when he was joking until I saw that gleam in his eye.”

“Larry Saxton was generous with his time. When my youngest son was born, he offered to teach my course for a few weeks.”

“I worked in the CS Department office for many years. Larry was a kind and considerate person who loved to visit with the office staff and was always willing to help. Larry kept us entertained with his many stories.”

“Dr. Saxton was a good mentor, a fine scholar and a nice person. I will miss most his greetings when walking past his office.”

“Larry's office door was always open, and he was always ready for students or colleagues to stop by to discuss a problem or have a chat. He told me how surprised he was when he saw a huge square in the middle of the Chinese city Dalian, where he attended a conference. Motivated by his amazing experience, when I attended a conference in Dalian the first thing I did was to have a tour of that square, which was impressive. From then on, every time I see a big square in China (there are many), I recall Larry’s surprised facial expression. Thank you Larry for all you have given to me and to the Department.”

“I didn't take any courses from Larry, but he still had a great impact on me. He was the faculty adviser for our ACM Student Chapter and he supported activities of the CSSS as well. He attended many convocations over the years. I remember that he attended my convocation and made a point of talking with my family afterwards. He was a stalwart member of the CS Department's intramural baseball teams over the years.”

“Larry Saxton was a devoted member of the University Club. Almost every noon, you could expect to see him at the 'regulars' table in the Club. He enjoyed the camaraderie that came from long association with the members and staff at the Club.”
“As a Professor Emeritus, Larry Saxton continued to offer his time in service of the CS Department. Several years after he retired, I asked him to serve on a Master's thesis committee. He agreed without hesitation. I later learned that he served on five other Master's thesis committees that term.”

“I had the opportunity to visit with Larry in Wolseley several times over the past year. He always had a smile, prepared to have a visit that would include a conversation about sports – especially the Roughriders! Each time as I was leaving, he waved and thanked me. I will miss those visits.”

“A fixture in time and space now absent.”