Lawrence E. “Larry” Christian, age 77, of Marion, went to be with the Lord Friday evening, December 10, 2010, at his residence surrounded by his loving family following a seven-year battle with pulmonary fibrosis.
On January 22, 1933, Larry was born in Ottawa, Kansas, the son of the late Bernard Henry Christian Sr. and Mabel (Bowman) Christian. He was raised in Topeka, Kansas, where he graduated from Topeka High School in the Class of 1951.
When he was only 16 years old, Larry attended a youth Baptist church camp and being one of the few boys in the camp, a young lady, Joan Nottingham, jumped off the high dive to catch his attention in hopes of “winning the prize.” Their relationship would blossom from there despite attending different high schools and later different colleges. He was tenacious and unpredictable, just “showing up” to see her whenever the opportunity presented itself.
After high school, Larry furthered his education at Washburn University, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in 1955, and he participated in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (R.O.T.C.) program. While there, he proposed to Jody, the young woman of his dreams, and they were married on August 16, 1953, at the First Baptist Church in Hiawatha, Kansas. Before graduating, Larry and Jody had the first addition to their family, Carolyn.
Shortly after graduating from Washburn University, Larry enlisted in the United States Air Force. He was stationed in Florida and Tokyo, Japan, serving for three years as a statistical services officer, and earning the rank of captain. Their second child, Mark, was born in Tokyo.
Upon his honorable discharge from the military, Larry, Jody and family returned to Wichita, Kansas, where he began his career in sales and marketing working for Proctor and Gamble in their soap and sales and marketing division. In the ten plus years working for them, he and his family moved to Kansas City and Munich, Germany where their third child, Anne, was born. They then moved to Ballston Lake, New York until 1970. Larry then received an offer to work for Owens Illinois in Sylvania, Ohio, where he would work for over seven years. Then, in the year of the blizzard of 1978, Larry and his family moved to where they would officially call “home” in Marion, Ohio, where he accepted a position with the TODCO Door Company. After working there and at PoppedRight for several years. He then started his own business, the Marion Employment Agency, where he was for a time before joining the Marion County Department of Human Services as a case manager. He retired from that post in 1998.
A man of deep faith, Larry was an active and dedicated member of the First Presbyterian Church ever since moving to Marion 31 years ago. For the church he has honorably served as an elder and deacon, and has twice been a member and president of the board of trustees, helping with various committees such as their building and furnace committees. For their Genesis Sunday School class, he proudly served as their opener, helping to get all of their lessons started off on the right foot. He was a member of the 55+ social club and was always behind the scenes with the Presbyterian Women of FPC. He also dedicated himself to knowing everyone in the church by name, getting to know everything about them, and then with his caring personality he was the church’s unofficial welcoming committee.
Dedicated not only to his church, Larry was also deeply committed to the people of the Marion community. Always wanting to help, he served as a member and past president of the Marion Shelter Program’s Board, where he helped build the women’s and men’s shelters from the ground up and he was instrumental in starting the Journey House, which was a home to help train and prepare people out of work to earn employment. He also served on the board and was past president of LOVE, In the Name of Christ, and volunteered with the local Boys and Girls Club. In 1997, for his efforts to the Marion Community he was honored to earn the Distinguished Citizen Award.
Believing in the mission of the American Red Cross, Larry had been a regular donor at blood drives since his days as a student at Washburn University. Always wanting to do and give more, Larry volunteered on Marion County’s Red Cross Board for nearly ten years. He served as their Chapter Chair for two terms, and played a vital role in the broader community’s military care package program, transporting cartons to the post office each month and working through the shipping papers with USPS representatives. For his dedicated efforts, he was awarded the Clara Barton Volunteer Leadership Honor Award. The “Larry Christian Award”, for Exceptional Chapter Leadership and Governance was established in his honor. He was the first to be awarded this honor.
Though Larry had been retired for many years, he never stopped working and doing things that make a difference. He made sure he saw every project through, and he had a way of always finding the right people to help get projects done.
With a love for traveling, Larry and Jody traveled so much it is easier to list the places they haven’t been to than the places they have been to. They were proud to have a world map at their home that had thumb tacks all over it marking the places they had been to. They took countless trips overseas to places like Hong Kong, China, Scandinavia, and Thailand to name just a few, with their favorite trip being to St. Petersburg, Russia. Larry loved everything about traveling, the food, the culture, and most especially, the people! He always managed to get by, no matter the circumstance, even when he didn’t know the language.
A family man at heart, Larry’s favorite time was any time spent with his family. He truly cherished his loving wife, Jody, and their fifty-seven years together…she was the most important person in his world. He deeply loved his three children and five grandchildren, and loved when his family would come together for the holidays and for their yearly summer trips to state parks all throughout Ohio. For his grandchildren, he would make the time to take them on special site seeing trips that they will never forget. He also was their self-appointed family photographer, taking countless photos, and always using his token line, “just one more,” which he would still be saying many pictures later.
A man of charisma , Larry had a knack for quickly building rapport with someone, getting on their level, finding the best in everyone. He was the kind of person you wanted to tell everything to, and he always found out the most interesting things about everyone. Then once you told him something, he would never forget even the smallest detail. He cared so much about people that he wouldn’t allow himself to forget any details. He was an eternal optimist, always believing in people and seeing the best in them too.
He will be dearly missed by his beloved wife, Jody, of Marion; three loving children: Carolyn Christian of Santa Fe, New Mexico, Mark (Gale) Christian of Sylvania, Ohio, and Anne Carlisle of Dublin, Ohio; five grandchildren: Courtney (Joshua) Cavener, Lance Corporal Benjamin Christian, Laura Christian, and Jackson and Isabel Carlisle; one great grandchild on the way; a brother, Bernard (Geri) Christian Jr. of Kansas City, Kansas; several nephews and cousins, with one cousin being like a brother to him, Sam (Dorothy) Ferguson of Raymore, Missouri.
The Christian family will greet friends from 4 – 7 p.m. on Tuesday, December 14, 2010, at the First Presbyterian Church, 143 S. Prospect St., Marion. Services honoring his life will also be held at the church on Wednesday at 11:00 a.m., with Rev. Robert Howard officiating. Family and friends will be encouraged to stay for a meal that will immediately follow the services. Graveside services with military honors provided by the Marion County United Veterans Council will be held at 2:00 p.m. in Marion Cemetery.
The Denzer-Farison-Hottinger & Snyder Funeral Home is honored to have been chosen to serve Larry’s family.
Memorial contributions may be made to the First Presbyterian Church, 143 S. Prospect St., Marion, Ohio 43302, the American Red Cross, c/o Marion Chapter, 1849 Summerset Dr., Marion, Ohio 43302, the Marion Homeless Shelter on 326 W. Fairground St, Marion, and LOVE In the Name of Christ, 196 S. Main St.
For those wishing to express their condolences online to Larry’s family, you may do so by visiting www.snyderfuneralhomes.com.
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