Colleague salutes Larry Desmeules

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When Larry Desmeules died on Feb. 24, he left behind an enviable record of achievement on behalf of the Aboriginal community. Bigger than life itself - not just physically, but in his vision and his ability to achieve as well - there were many who chose to magnify his human weakness rather than the magnitude of his achievements.

But the record speaks for itself. Through more than 25 years of service in a variety of roles, he carried his people into the 21st century - sometimes screaming and kicking, but ever forward.

Because I had the privilege of working with Larry to help him fulfil his dreams, to dream with him, to work with him to make those dreams a reality, this must be a very personal tribute. You cannot work s closely with someone as special as Larry, as I did

for 10 of the past 25 years, without it having a permanent and far-reaching impact.

Larry Desmeules was no ordinary man. He did not work in ordinary ways. And his vision was so clear to him that he could convince almost everyone to join his crusade. Larry was the same person, whether he was talking to the Prime Minister on Parliament Hill or the poorest traditional Metis in the bush, somehow conveying his message to each in a way that was clearly understood.

Often, the clarity of his vision and his determination to see it fulfilled as soon as possible made him difficult and impatient. He did not suffer fools or cowards at all, for his successful leadership was built on his courage to pursue his vision. He found it difficult to tolerate those around him who were unwilling to pursue his vision and he found it difficult to tolerate those who were unwilling to pursue that vision with the same total dedication and commitment that he was willing to give.

As with every good leader, Larry sought the best possible people to help him realize his vision, and was not threatened or intimidated if they could offer specific knowledge, experience and skills greater than his own.

Larry often talked about the loneliness of leadership, and the great burden that accrues to those who sit where the buck stops, the chair of leadership where all responsibility must ultimately rest. That eventually becomes the most difficult burden of all: To take responsibility for every burden for which no one else would take responsibility.

Moving ahead toward the realization of his vision, he would often look back to see that he had moved so far ahead of those he led that they were nowhere in sight.

But there was much more to Larry Desmeules than his leadership and the success of those ventures for which he took responsibility.

Although he spent a dizzying amount of time on the road attending to a demanding itinerary that took him back and forth across the province and the country, his heart was always with his family, which always came first.

And as demanding as he could be with his colleagues and staff, if any one of them had a family crisis, he encouraged them to drop whatever job commitments they had - no matter how important that might seem - to put their families first.

The real Larry Desmeules, the man behind the gruff, demanding, impatient role he played as president, was Larry the grandfather telling granddaughter Bianca that the Legislature Building was his castle and that everyone who worked there - including Premier Don Getty - worked for him; dubbing grandson Harlan "Man Cub", or lugging

a giant stuffed teddy bear almost as big as himself to the hospital for his newborn granddaughter Kendra.

The real Larry Desmeules was the man who remembered the long hard days on the fishing boats, who could still gleefully recite the pitch he used in years past to sell vacuum cleaners and carpet and water softeners, the negotiator and persuader who could charm and disarm politicians and bureaucrats.

The real Larry Desmeules was the man who remembered the thrill of flying an airplane and who still pursued the excitement of finding new toys to add to his already over-equipped boat.

The realLarry Desmeules was the Metis boy off the fishing boats of northern Ontario who gave his people a vision and a sense of nationhood in which that vision could become reality.

Some chose to amplify, others to ignore, his weaknesses, his excesses, his inconsistencies. None could ignore his strengths, his vision, his determination, his achievements.

To those who would assume the mantle of his leadership, he leaves a formidable challenge. At the worst, his passing will leave a battle to replace him that may dim the clarity of his vision and threaten the continuation of all that he has built. At best, those who succeed him will work in unity to ensure that his vision will become reality.

But whatever happens next, many - me among them - will remember him as a friend, and all will remember him as probably the greatest Metis leader since Louis Riel.

(Clint Buehler served as special assistant to Larry Desmeules from 1971 to 1976, and as executive director of the Metis Nation of Alberta from March 1988 to July 1992.)