Larry’s entire life was about making a difference in lives of other people. He would literally give the shirt off of his back if you needed it. As a pharmacist, he took the old fashioned approach – he cared about his customers and humbly, he would tell you that no one ever came into his drug store and left without what they needed even if they didn’t have the money. The company received their money so we know where the difference came from – Larry. His customers followed him when his employer would move him around and they called him Doc as they knew that he would take great care for them at his pharmacy.
To say that Larry is a Bama fan is a to say that the Pope is a priest and a Catholic! He really did bleed crimson! His Bama collection of hats, memorabilia and anything that had a Bama logo on it is probably not rivaled on this planet. As you can see from the picture, Bryant Denny stadium was a sanctuary for him and we have no idea how many Alabama football games this man witnessed. A garage makeover at his home years ago turned, where cars used to park, into a shrine of Alabama memorabilia. Any of us that knew him also knew that when you saw Larry he would be wearing something, if not every item on his body, that had a Bama logo on it!
In January of 2020 he was diagnosed with AML – Acute Myeloid Leukemia at MUSC Hospital in Charleston, SC. He vowed to do whatever it took to get well and he fought hard to win that battle. After 4 rounds of chemo at MUSC they had nothing else that they could do and the leukemia was still raging. His sister Faye got on the phone and found a clinical trial at Baptist MD Anderson in Jacksonville, FL that was targeted to one of the main gene mutations that Larry had – TP53, and he was accepted into the trial. After 2 rounds of the Phase 3 drug there wasn’t any progress in the leukemia going into remission so on July 31st Faye brought him home.
Larry was a fighter all of his life in that he fought for himself and he fought for others. He put up a brave fight in his battle against AML, but ultimately God had other plans and has taken him home to be with his wife Sharon. All of us that have been blessed to know and love Larry through the years also know that he would want you to fight for what you believe in and to also fight for others that may be stricken with leukemia and need a bone marrow transplant. This is what his legacy is all about – servant leadership. He believed he was put on this planet to make a difference and you can too by registering with Gift of Life.
Additional Information:
About marrow donor registries
Because only 30 percent of patients needing a transplant find a match among family members, 70 percent of patients must rely on volunteer bone marrow and blood stem cell donors who have joined one of the worldwide donor registries. Gift of Life is one of two public registries in the United States, and is a member of the World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA).
Age matters!
While anyone between 18 and 60 can join the registry, the most frequently requested donors are young and male. Young people produce more stem cells, and due to their larger physical size, men produce more stem cells. The most requested donor group is 18 to 35, yet all donors can remain in the registry until their 61st birthday, and plenty of donors are called from the 36 to 60 group! Outside of this age group, we ask you to consider sponsoring a kit to be processed into our registry. Each swab kit costs $60 to process and, unfortunately, neither the government nor insurance covers the cost of testing new donors to grow the registry. Even the smallest donation helps!
How to use your swab kit
Your kit will arrive in the mail within five business days. Each kit contains four sterile cotton swabs, two for each side of your mouth. The kit will also have a postage paid return envelope – which may be folded up. Do not discard the return envelope.
Each kit has instructions printed on the inside:
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Complete all the information on the swab kit’s upper flap. Please print legibly.
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Open the swabs, being careful not to touch the cotton to any surface other than your inner cheek. You may want to open one packet at a time. Only you should touch the swabs to prevent contamination.
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Swallow before swabbing! This is not a saliva test.
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Use each of the swabs in a different quadrant of your cheek, as shown in the diagram printed on the kit.
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Brush the swab against the inside of your cheek in a circular motion for approximately ten seconds.
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Drop the first swab inside the envelope and go to the next one, until all four are completed.
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Once the four swabs are inside the envelope, peel the adhesive strip and seal the envelope to prevent contamination.
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Do not remove the perforated section of the flap. Please double-check your information for completeness and legibility. Your telephone number and email address are essential for contacting you if you are a match.
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Place the entire kit inside the postage paid return envelope. If you have misplaced the envelope, please call our office to have a new, postage paid return envelope sent to you. Or, you can place your kit inside an envelope and mail it to our office at 5901 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Boca Raton, FL 33487.
For other Frequently Asked Questions and more information about joining the registry and the donation process please visit:
