It was spectacular watching Larry Moore's invention -- a contraption he called a para-balloon -- catch the wind, jerking him hundreds of feet into the air in a test flight that would not go well.
Picture a man in a giant Jolly Jumper. That's what he looked like, said daughter Jennifer Churchill, who was there for the inaugural flight in 1975.
"We found him in a tree," she said.
That flight was more successful than his previous try earlier that year, when the balloon detached from under the parachute and deflated as it shot across the Mississauga skyline with the family in hot pursuit by car.
"It looked like an undulating amoeba," recalled Jennifer, noting this time it landed limply on a billboard.
Some might consider these two misfires a failure, but not Larry. No, for Larry it was all about the big adventure, an addictive rush that had inspired his soul since childhood.
"He read a book by Richard Halliburton, The Book of Marvels, and he said that really piqued his interest," explained his eldest daughter, Lori Moore. "He tried to pursue each of the chapters."
Halliburton (1900-1939) was an adventure travel writer whose glamorous life inspired many youngsters, though few would have the wherewithal to follow their dreams. Larry was an exception.
By day he was a computer guru, pioneering new systems at a time when computers were still those hulking, mysterious monsters. But after hours, when he had time to flex his own spirited mind, Larry invented new ideas and gadgets. The para-balloon developed from his love of flying and consisted of a circular parachute over top an enormous homemade balloon that he filled with hot air from a portable heater, giving the parachute lift. The result was sort of a cross between sky diving and hot-air ballooning.
In 1982 he chartered a flight and called it Adventures Expedition to the North Pole, filling the aircraft with tourists and media for a flight to the North Pole and back in a single day. As far as Jennifer recalls, it had never been done before.
Larry, born and raised in Kitchener, was second eldest in a family of four.
"I think they had a comfortable and stable childhood and he was able to pursue his interests without much difficulty," said Lori.
In 1945, at only 14 years of age, Larry travelled by himself from Kitchener to Toronto to partake in the city's celebration of Victory in Japan Day. He wanted to be there as history unfolded.
Larry's next shot at adventure came in 1952 when he served 18 months in Korea with the Canadian Forces and, on his return, he joined the reserves as well as completing an engineering degree at the University of Toronto. After graduation in 1956, he was scooped up by IBM though he soon left to join Ryerson University in Toronto where he helped establish the computer department.
Jennifer recalls a family vacation to Acapulco, when the plane made a stop in Mexico City. Larry announced he'd never been to the city before, so he disembarked and promised to later meet up with his family.
"You never knew what he was going to do," she said, admitting that her father was not a great husband and after 23 years, he and his wife Betty parted ways.
"He was unconventional . . . he refused to be slotted into any position," said Lori of her highly social father who travelled constantly and lined the walls of his apartment with a collage of photos from the far-flung edges of the globe: Egypt, Israel, England, China, Australia and India as well as across North America, usually travelling alone and often aboard sailing ships.
"What really impressed me was his love for life," Jennifer said. "He saw the world as a wondrous place."
Lori described her dad as "a little like the mad professor" constantly plotting his next great experiment. "He was always seeking, always thinking."
vhill@therecord.com
LARRY MOORE
Lawrence Moore of Toronto
Born: Nov. 1, 1931 in Kitchener
Died: Feb. 20, 2008, of prostate cancer
