He was a loved man

A couple of months ago, my sister Pat called me to let me know that her brother in law had throat cancer. They were not going to be able to operate, so he was going to have radiation treatments that would start right away. Pat and several other members of the family took turns taking care of him during this time. I was asked if I could go and help out for a week, so I told Pat that I would be more than willing to help out. Well, my week was to start this past Monday. The Wednesday before I was in the drug store, with my grandson, when the phone rang and Pat announced that her brother in law had died sometime during the night. I was totally taken aback because it was not expected to happen. He had just finished his radiation treatments and was doing better. My niece, who had been taking care of him, found him dead in his bed. She said she had gone in to wake him up and he was cold. I felt sooo sorry for Missy, having to find him like that.

Pat and her husband immediately drove to Austin to start the funeral arrangements. The funeral was last Saturday and my brother and I drove, the three hour trip, to attend the funeral. We got there early and went on in to the chapel to find a place to sit. People started to arrive and by the time the funeral started it was standing room only. I had never in my life attended a funeral this big. Larry’s 15 yr. old daughter, Carlie, gave a beautiful testimony of her father and when she was done everyone stood up and clapped. She was so articulate and spontaneous with her remarks, there wasn’t a dry eye in the place. This was a loved man!

After the service we all took a drive to the grave yard, which was two hours away, in Brenhamn, Texas. Larry’s great, great, great grandfather had donated the land for the grave yard. It seems that the Mexican government gave him the land before Texas became a republic. The grave yard was on top of a rolling hill, a soft breeze was blowing, and the view was unbelievable. Bluebonnets and wild flowers were everywhere. I couldn’t imagine a more beautiful spot to be buried. It capped off an amazing day, one that I will never forget. My brother and I drove home in a quite solitude. The family is grieving and in the process of healing.. I wish them all well and will keep them in my prayers.

My sister emailed me a webpage that was put together by the school that he worked at in Austin. If you would like to see what Larry was like, click on the webpage and take a look. http://lhs.leanderisd.org/organizations/skills_usa/brown/brown.html