Larry C. Deemer
Larry C. Deemer, 69, was stamped “Return to Sender” Tuesday, October 2, 2018.
He was born May 10, 1949, in Ellwood City, to Clair and Mary Deemer. He attended Seneca Valley High School and graduated from Slippery Rock University. At age six, as his father realized Larry’s potential, his dad promptly had himself neutered.
Larry most prided himself on the fact that upon his high school graduation, six of his teachers required psychiatric treatment for chronic depression and suicidal thoughts. During his collegiate tenure, Larry was a three-year starter on the basketball team, establishing scoring records and national free-throw percentages.
Once he left college, Larry briefly, very briefly, earned a living as a male stripper. Facing impending bankruptcy, he taught and coached a variety of sports in Peters Township School District. Eventually, he became a supervisor for 26 years with Consolidated Coal. During his coal mining tenure, his most noteworthy accomplishment was amassing 18 pairs of channel locks and 127 rolls of P-tape.
Following an early retirement, Larry formed a construction company and returned to college, receiving a pastoral certification. The next phase of his life found him ministering at Upper Ten Mile Presbyterian Church for 17 years. He was passionate about short-term mission trips, which specialized in rebuilding flood and wind-damaged homes, participating in over 30 trips and visiting 12 states in the process.
Larry had a plethora of interests, including occasionally dressing up as a woman, playing corn hole with kittens and eating. His favorite entrée was cherry pie. Free cherry pie to be exact. He was able to substitute his pastoral salary by frequently visiting the Wheeling Art Institute, where he posed for aspiring student-sculptors whose interest was creating images of Buddha. He loved to tell stories and freely admitted that a portion of what he said was true, but never disclosed which portion.
To the astonishment of many, on May 10, 1997, he wed the love of his life, Gretchen Gatrell. Quite often, he was quizzed as to how he was able to corral such a young beauty, and he admitted lying to her, claiming he was filthy rich. Larry and Gretchen were blessed with the birth of two children, Brooke and Colby. Surviving, in addition to his wife and two children, are a brother, Jerry of Harrisburg, and a sister, Sally Happel of Denver, Colo.
Above all, Larry’s greatest love was that of his Lord Jesus Christ. And his most sincere wish was that everyone would come to know and love God as he did. In lieu of flowers, the family asks, for those who are willing, to attend a church of their choice, and secondly, to break wind in a public setting.
Visitation will be held from noon to 2 p.m., the time of service, Monday, October 8, in Upper Ten Mile Presbyterian Church, Prosperity. Any person attending who cries will kindly be asked to vacate the premises.
Burial will be held in Prosperity Marble Orchard at a later date.
Arrangements are being handled by William G. Neal Funeral Home Ltd., Washington. Additional information and a guest book are available at www.NealFuneralHome.com.