First, we would like to thank all of you for your support. It means so much to us all.

Larry was an ornery brother to Connie, Darlene, and late sister Kathy; loving husband to Kaye; dedicated father to Brad, Jason, and Brandon; thoughtful father-in-law to Terri, Audra, and Stephanie; proud grandfather to Haven, Holden, Gracie, Noah, Blake, Everett, and Isaac; uncle, and friend to many.

Larry was neat and organized and loved keeping lists and records. Including writing down for us exactly how we should write this eulogy with dates of when this document was edited. That being said you must know that his typed draft of this eulogy was written before 2008. His handwrittenedits to the document were recorded to be October 2008, June 2011, and last edited on February 2017. Now this is important because over ten years ago Larry had written that he was born in Meade, Kansas on October 4, 1940 and anticipated his expected death date to be October 4, 2018. Well he almost made this goal! This was just one example of his perfectionism, and attention to detail.

Larry wanted to share that his spiritual relationship with the Lord began as a child and grew throughout his life. He was saved as a child with help of his mother Katherine Classen and was baptized as a teenager. Larry admitted that at times he struggled with his Christian faith because of his history with depression and anxiety. However, he noted that he made a new and fresh commitment to the Lord in July of 1995. Larry was an active member of the Meade Church of the Nazarene. He taught Sunday school for all ages (children and adults), sang in the choir, served on the board, and enjoyed being a greeter.

Most all knew he was a passionate sports fan and loved everything associated with Meade Buffalos, Kansas Jayhawks, and the Chicago White Sox. He followed MidAmerica Nazarene University football especially during the years that Jason and Brandon played football. He seldom missed their games and traveled all over Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, and Ohio for several years. This is something his children try to replicate in their parenting as they now understand the full extent of this act of love and support.

Larry was a hard worker that believed in quality work. This dedication to quality work lead to Jason and Brandon being fired from the lawn mowing business Larry operated. However you must know, Larry's definition of firing someone was not cessation of work but cessation of pay. Related to quality work, Larry was proud to be called "Mr. Webster" because of his spelling, grammar, and vocabulary knowledge. Remember he wrote part of this eulogy, well we would like to give him a hard time about memorial being misspelled in his notes.

Larry worked hard but also knew how to play. He made time to take several memorable family vacations. He loved to travel to university campuses, look over facilities, and meet the coaches. He wrote that you should know he wasn't bashful and was very curious. He persistently found his way into normally closed areas of sports arenas. He wanted Brandon to recall their trip to the Pyramid in Memphis and Jason to recall their trip to Promise Keepers in Minneapolis. His grandchildren's favorite memories of playing with Papaw Jayhawk were the basketball games in the church, the Classen summer Olympics, Easter egg hunts, wrestling matches, and board games. Isaac loves all the special toys that Papaw Jayhawk shared with him.

He wanted Kaye to know that she was his beautiful bride, friend, and lifelong companion. She had the most beautiful singing voice and he appreciated her quiet but strong support. He often bragged on her for her talent in music, sewing, and many other talents. He was very appreciative of her dedication through many tough times embedded with the good times.

He had a lot of friends all over the country even though he considered himself a private person. He will be remembered for his friendship, jokes, sense of humor, pranks, and life lessons he conveyed through actions and words. He often wore a t-shirt that said, "I want to live my life so that the preacher won't have to lie at my funeral."

Larry we love you...

The family would welcome memorials to the Nazarene Compassionate Ministries or the Samaritans Purse in care of the funeral home.