Laurent Cyr a Yukon pioneer by all accounts passed away Saturday at the age of 87.

Born in Whitehorse on Aug. 28, 1919, Cyr spent his entire life in Whitehorse, not wanting to live anywhere else.

His son Raymond recalled this morning how his dad went down to visit him for four weeks once, but only lasted two weeks before his yearning for home pulled him back.

'Everything he did was for the Yukon,' Raymond said by phone from Edmonton. 'He was a dedicated Yukoner, and that was all he ever talked about.'

Even as a youngster growing up in Whitehorse, Cyr made a business out of taking tourists on guided walks around town, Raymond said, noting that Cyr even had a business card printed up.

Raymond said funeral services will be held Jan. 6 at the Sacred Heart Cathedral. Cyr was predeceased by his wife, Corrine, who died late last January, and his sister, Gloria Kohler and brother, Lomer Cyr.

He is survived by his 83-year-old brother Paul Cyr of Tagish and his 81-year-old sister Lil Newton of Kelowna, B.C.

The Cyr family's origin in the Yukon dates back to 1898 with the arrival to Whitehorse of Antoine and Michel Cyr.

Antoine Cyr met a woman by the name of Marie-Ange Beaudoin, a widow with two children. The couple had another five children of their own.

Cyr, who once served a term as city alderman in the 1970s, had a passion for history and was recognized as one of the go-to guys when there was a need to recall local events from years and decades gone by.

He was a founding member of the Yukon Transportation Museum. He was inducted into the Yukon Transportation Hall of Fame in 2004 for beginning one of the first trucking companies in Whitehorse.

It was early in life, as a kid, when Cyr developed a knack for the delivery and shipping business.

'His mother made bread and he would run around town and sell it,' Lloyd Ryder, who was also born and raised in Whitehorse and grew up with Cyr, said this morning. 'There was only 300 people in Whitehorse and so there was not a lot of deliveries to be made.

'But he had a cart and would go down to the White Pass depot to see if there was anything light that needed to be delivered in town and he would pick it up.'

Cyr liked sports, and the kids in the neighbourhood often played ball in the empty lot next to the Cyr home on the 500 block of Steele Street, said Ryder.

He was energetic, witty and happy in life, said his lifelong friend.

Ryder said Cyr also worked on the riverboats for White Pass, and had a great memory and was able to recall a lot of the old days and what went on in Whitehorse.

Among his extensive community involvement, he was a mainstay in the Yukon Order Of Pioneers (YOOP).

Ken Mason, president of the order's grand lodge, pointed out this morning it was under Cyr's tutelage that he learned the ropes as treasurer for the Whitehorse YOOP.

'Right up until his last meeting, Laurent would do whatever he could to help, and whenever anybody had a question, he was there to answer it.'

For several years, he served as president of the order's grand lodge, and altogether he served with the organization for well over 50 years, said Mason, who stayed in touch with Cyr through his visits to Macaulay Lodge to play music for the residents.

'He was just a very nice man.'

Cyr was also one of the earlier members of the Yukon Historical Society, which was responsible for the creation of the MacBride Museum. For more than 30 years, the local historian volunteered his work for the museum, and served as president of the organization for many of those years.

'MacBride Museum exists in our community because of the dedication of a handful of people who had the foresight to document our history,' reads a short biography on record at the museum. Laurent Cyr was one of the key individuals who made that happen.'

Goody Sparling, who was also raised in Whitehorse, was of the same age group as Lil Newton and the late Gloria Kohler.

Though several grades behind Cyr, the students of the day all attended the three-room Lambert Street school. Grades 1 to 4 were in one room, 5 to 8 in another and 9 to 12 in the room at the back of the school.

Like others who recalled Cyr's involvement in different aspects of the community, Sparling remembers his long-standing dedication to the museum.

'He was there all the time,' she recalled. 'He was like a standard fixture.'

Ken McKinnon, a former commission of the Yukon who was closer to Cyr's sons Raymond and Terrence, said Cyr would always make a point of visiting the pioneers when they were in hospital.

'He was always there, and people really enjoyed his visits,' McKinnon said. 'Up until just the last few years, he was just a ball a fire.'

Cyr and his late wife were presented with the Commissioner's Award in January 2002 for their public service to the territory.

In conclusion to a short autobiography penned by Cyr on record at MacBride Museum, Cyr writes: 'One of my pet expressions is that if one ever retires, do not tell anyone because one will find how busy one can get.'