Lawerence Lee Church, age 61, born in Garden City, Mich., on Feb. 13, 1953, passed away June 27, 2014.
The oldest of four boys, Larry spent his grade school years in Compton, Calif., and moved to the Seattle area at the age of 12.
Active by nature, Larry loved people and nature and working with his hands. He graduated from Kent-Meridian High School and enrolled in Green River College with the goal of teaching woodshop.
Lawerence Church
Larry was humble by nature and referred to himself as a “jack of all trades and a master of none,” ignoring his accomplishments in carpentry, mushroom hunting, fly-tying and archery, a sport in which he won a junior state championship.
For Larry, the job he took to work himself through school ultimately became his career. Working as a night stocker in the Black Diamond IGA, he learned an unusual combination of skills — cutting and wrapping meats.
An affable person who genuinely loved helping people, Larry thrived in the supermarket environment. He eventually left IGA to become an apprentice butcher for Safeway. While working at the Eastgate Safeway store, he met a young bakery apprentice named Tara Stabler. They were married in 1978.
Larry and Tara had four children, Jeff, Elisa, Daniel and Michael, who died at childbirth. They have five grandchildren. Larry excelled in his career — ultimately leaving Safeway to work for the QFC chain, where he was recognized as one of the company’s top grossing employees. He worked hard; he loved fishing and his time in the outdoors, but his greatest passion always remained his family.
No discussion of Larry would be complete without describing the relationship he had with his children and grandchildren. He was not only a father but a friend to his children. His grandchildren adored him. During the long painful weeks spent at the hospital, he found strength by looking at family pictures and chatting with his grandchildren on the telephone.
In 2013, Larry was diagnosed with leukemia. In July of that year, he entered the University of Washington Medical Center for a stem cell transplant. Despite the stem cell donation from his brother Dave, constant care from his wife and his mother, and visits from countless friends and relatives, the cancer ultimately took his life.
A friendly but unassuming man, Larry Church seldom spoke of his accomplishments. Thinking about his father’s humility, Daniel Church remembered, “People would say stuff about him and Dad would say, ‘Oh, he’s just a storyteller.’”
According to Tara, patience was another of Larry’s virtues. “The one thing Larry prided himself on was patience.”
During his stays at UW Medical Center and Swedish Hospital, Larry never complained or forgot his love for the people around him. He befriended doctors, nurses and orderlies, and remained a giving, cheerful person.
Lawerence Lee Church is survived by his mother Sophie, his three brothers, his wife Tara, their three children and five grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, the family would prefer mourners to donate monies to the Make a Wish Foundation, an organization with a mission that Larry deeply cared about.
His memorial service is from 6-8 p.m. July 11 at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Duthie Hill Chapel, Sammamish.