Larry Carr and I were good friends. We met on the job. I worked security at GoJo Industries in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio for 13 years. Larry was a GoJo employee there. I worked at the guardhouse at the front gate on second shift, from 3:00 pm until 11:00 pm. Larry would come out to the guardhouse every single night on his break at around 7:00 pm. We would talk about all sorts of topics. I had found out that he was a friend to one of my nephews while growing up.

Larry and I spent time at GoJo for several years then, I had some health issues that kept me off the job for a few months and, when I returned, I found Larry was gone. As it turned out, he was struggling with his own health problems. We finally got together again about a year later and went out for breakfast at Burger King to catch up on things. I was somewhat shocked to see he was on a portable oxygen system. It seems that years of smoking had caught up with him.

We ended up meeting for breakfast often at Burger King and at other restaurants. Larry also came to our house a few times for gatherings and parties. He was a very quite guy who was a good listener. I joked with him that he had missed his calling. His appearance, with a head full of white hair, made him look more like a doctor or attorney rather that a factory worker. Larry was just a really good guy.

Larry loved classic cars and his real interest was muscle cars. His true love was GM cars but he enjoyed any make of car that was built up. In the time that I knew him, he drove a 1980s era Chevy sedan and an early 2000s Dodge SUV. He really enjoyed my 1930 Chevy sedan.

I had not heard from him in over a year. So one day I called him but found his number had been disconnected. He had a cell phone but also a land-line phone and I only had the land-line number. I simply thought he had finally gotten rid of it and kept his cell phone. I knew where he lived and figured I would stop over in the next few days. But then, for the heck of it, I looked him up on the web and was shocked to find he had died almost a year before.

Larry died on August 26, 2023. He was 61. I do not know the cause of death but I figure that his breathing problems was probably the cause.

Larry was a great guy and a good friend. I can only hope that his death was a peaceful one. Rest In Peace Larry. I will always remember those breakfast meetings and our talks at the guardhouse at GoJo.