Hello Leroy,
This is Marie Romano finally writing. I lost my beloved Larry, married 50 years, on September 2, 2023 of a heart attack at the kitchen table. You may remember December 2020 Larry’s heart was functioning at 12%. He was taken to the cardio lab for heart artery stints and put on a VENT DURING HIGH COVID instead of sedation. During the procedure a LARGE BLOOD CLOT TRAVELED TO HIS LEFT FRONTAL LOBE OF HIS BRAIN WIPING IT OUT, cognitivity, memory and speech gone! However, his right lobe could be rehabbed to regain some of the above. Thankfully, music was not affected and he could sing the songs to the 70’s knowing the lyrics.
In the past three years Larry and I have made six trips across the state of SD to receive excellent care (vs. this hospital in Rapid City.) He received a heart valve, had two aneurisms stinted in his abdomen, kidney dialysis to get his kidneys back in recovery. Monument Hospital here in 2020 did a CT scan, failed to clean the contrast dye and FAILED HIS KIDNEYS. Anyway, with outpatient brain stroke rehab and finally getting Larry to an inpatient brain stroke rehab hospital in Denver in July of this year he was doing great. He had severe aphasia like Gabby Gifford’s, attempted assassination, bullet hit her left frontal lobe in 2011.
Larry was a trooper and always strived to improve his health along with rehabbing of his right lobe.
Could you let the Farsider membership know that Larry has passed. I’m still sending Christmas cards to Larry Otter, Mike Egan. Jay Wendling and Dewey Moore are gone now but I keep in contact with their wives.
I hold very special memories of my years at SJPD Captain of Detectives admin and Burglary admin from 1974-1982 when we moved to Rapid City, SD.
Please send me your address. I’d like to send a memorial pamphlet. Larry is buried with his mother in Clovis, CA. In 1949 Lucy was cleaning the baseboard of their home in Fresno, CA. She used a chemical that hit the pilot light of the hot water heater, it exploded and blew her out the kitchen screen door. She rolled and put out the fire from her waist down, crawled into the house, handed Larry to a neighbor through the window. She was 21 years old and Larry was 8 months old. It was a tragedy. Larry always wanted to be with her, so his wishes were met. On October 31, 2023 Larry was buried with Lucy at Holy Cross Cemetery in Fresno. I’ll be with them when God calls me home.
Take care and I so fondly remember Bill Mattos and you. Greg Sargent was the lieutenant when I was in Burglary.
Marie Romano
1775 Reservoir Rd
Rapid City SD 57703-7000
605-877-1868
larboy@rap.midco.net
God Bless Our Troops
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”
~Leo Buscaglia
Four things you can’t recover:
The stone…………after the throw
The word…………after it’s said
The occasion……..after it’s missed
The time………….after it’s gone
So sorry to hear of Marie Romano’s loss. She was an amazing part of our old Department operations. Nice and very well presented write-up she did for Larry. Wishing her all the peace and comfort up there in South Dakota.
Thank you Kenn for responding and thank you for your kind words. I remember you well. It was a pleasure to work at SJPD Captain of Detectives then onto Burglary Admin. I left in 1982 for South Dakota. I retired with the state, Rapid City PD and School of Mines and Technology, Dean of Students Office. I was born in San Mateo, 1950 and my family moved to the Sorci Ranch off Homestead Road when I was two years old. The Sorci’s are still my second family. As I mentioned I stay in contact with as many as I can from “back in the day.” Mike Egan….we’d visit him in Morgan Hill when we’d make our yearly summer vacation trips back home. San Jose will always be my home. Larry was buried with his mom in Fresno, Holy Cross Cemetery on 10/31/23. She died in a fire in Fresno at age 21 and saved her Larry at 8 months old before she collapsed, to the hospital and died three days later of her burns. I’ll also be buried with Larry and Lucy when my time comes.
I pray all is well with you and your family. I’ll be back in SJ in May, stay with Roselee Sorci and have the rest of Larry’s ashes spread in Monterey Bay. The Fresno Catholic cemetery wouldn’t accept the pine box of all of my Larry’s ashes, only a 5×6 urn. We never wanted to be buried in SD….so that’s the plan.
I’m getting back to the RCPD auxiliary and Sheriff’s office volunteer programs and working with our veterans at the School of Mines. We volunteered a lot in retirement. Larry would want me to continue on, you know. God bless.
Your friend,
Marie Romano
SJPD 1974-1982.
Marie, Sherry and I are so sorry to hear about Larry. He had a difficult time and you told his story well.
You are the best and I well rememberer the “old days” when you shepherded us Burglary guys and referred to my partner Doug Wright and me as Husky and Starch!
Please keep in touch with your San Jose family.
Ken
Oh thank you so much for responding Ken. Yes, I remember you two best buds. Husky and Starch — that you were. I remember Tim Jones also in Burglary who suffered so much with cancer and it finally took him. Doug passed away also I know. Good old Lt. Greg Sargent. I remember getting stuck in the elevator, I could only see a little bit of the third floor. Well, here came Greg……tapping his wing tip shoes saying okay, Marie, some people would do anything to get out of work. He was quite the character. All my best to Sherry and your family, Ken. God bless you. I’ll stay in the good fight as Larry would say and do. If you send your home address I’ll send a pamphlet from his memorial. He was a rough framer in San Jose with his dad and brother for many years before we moved. Union guy…..well nothing in SD you know as far as union wages, however, Larry landed a job at the airport, City maintenance, clearing runways, etc. He was there for 25 years (retired in 2010) and made the “Rule of 85” years of service plus age total. Cops are Rule of 75 out here to receive a full state retirement. I also made the Rule retiring in 2013. We volunteered, Honor Flight, Meals on Wheels, RCPD auxiliary, serving meals at the mission, etc.
Larry was in ICU where this hospital vented him instead of sedation on Christmas Eve 2020 for a heart stint procedure in the cardio lab when a large blood clot traveled to his left frontal lobe and wiped it out. He found for three years to regain some cognitivity, memory and speech. He was my inspiration. Your friend, Marie
EXCELLENT WRITING!!! Check your e-mail for a little more news. Sending you hugs up that way. You two were BOTH “troopers” and very honorable contributors to society. May Larry’s memory be eternal.