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It is with great regret and sorrow that we must notify you of the death of our
Classmate, Larry Smalley, on 28 April in Houston, TX, of complications from
Alzheimer’s disease.
Larry is survived
by his wife, Kathleen;
son Stephen and daughter Jennifer Whittenbery, stepsons William and Chris
Wesolic and Stepdaughter Jennifer Smith. Grandchildren include Somya and Saaya
Smalley, Kate Whittenberg, Chris, Courtney and Mackenzie Smith, and Ali, Emily
and Colby Wesolic.
A memorial service
will be held at 2:00 p.m. on June 6, 2017 at
Second Baptist
Church of Houston in the Hankamer Chapel, 6400 Woodway Drive, Houston, TX
77057.
Larry
donated his body to the University of Texas Medical School.
Condolences may be
sent to Kathleen at 12800 Briar Forest Drive, Unit 183, Houston, TX
77077-2212.
In lieu of flowers,
the family has requested that donations in Larry’s memory be made to
CAPS (Citizens for
Animal Protection), 17555 Katy Freeway, Houston, TX 77094.
Well done, Larry.
Be thou at
peace.
Remembrances:
Class Memorial Pages\L-2 Larry Smalley.pdf
My deepest condolences on
Larry's passing to the life hereafter. He was an All American . It was a
privilege and honor to have known him as a classmate and a friend. We traveled
to Europe on Space Available in the summer of 1960 and made many trips as cadets
between the Cincinnati Dayton area to West Point on USAF flights out of Wright
Pat AFB and by car. After graduation, we drove together to the Engineer
Officer's Basic course at Ft. Belvoir in the D.C. area and flew together in RVN
on a number of his trips to check construction sites for the Joint Chiefs in
D.C. He was a man of great integrity and honor. He cannot be replaced - a very
special person.
Dan Halpin USMA '61
Professor Emeritus, Civil Engineering
Purdue University, W. Lafayette, IN
Obituaries:
Taps Memorial Article:
Larry F. Smalley 1961
Cullum No.
23387-1961 | April 28, 2017 | Died in Houston, TX
Body donated to
science.
 Larry
Francis Smalley was born in Celina, OH on September 4, 1939 but was raised in
Dayton, OH by his parents Francis and Marjorie Smalley. His father was in charge
of constructing runways and related facilities at Wright-Patterson Air Field.
Observing this important work was instrumental in Larry’s subsequent decision to
join the Army Corps of Engineers when he entered the Regular Army.
Upon graduation
from high school he was appointed to the United States Military Academy at West
Point, joining the Class of 1961. At West Point, Larry was a model cadet. He had
no difficulty surmounting the rigorous athletic, academic and mental challenges
encountered at the Academy, graduating in the top 20 percent of his class. He
enjoyed teaching Sunday School to Army children, as well as marching in the West
Point Color Guard as a sophomore. His outstanding leadership potential was
recognized early on, and he was selected to be a cadet captain and commander of
his cadet company his senior year.
He graduated from
West Point in June 1961 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers. During his first year of active duty he completed the
Engineer Officer Basic Course at Fort Belvoir, VA, followed by graduation from
both the U.S. Army Ranger and Airborne schools. Next came an assignment to Korea
as a platoon leader and battalion adjutant. Following his Korea tour the Army
selected Larry for advanced civil schooling at the Ohio State University. He
graduated in 1965 with a master’s degree in civil engineering with a minor in
photogrammetry.
His next assignment
was in the Office of the Chief of Engineers in Washington, DC, where he was
appointed the Chief of Engineers’ liaison officer to Southeast Asia. His duties
required periodic visits to engineer units in Vietnam, Thailand, and Taiwan to
collect information about the successes and the difficulties experienced by
these units. He would then brief senior members of the Army Staff and the Chief
of Engineers on his observations. His next tour of duty was to the Corps of
Engineers’ district office in Savannah, GA, where he served as a federal
contracting officer and chairman of the Claims Committee. He was able to
effectively apply the engineering concepts learned at Ohio State in this
assignment. Following his tour in Savannah he was posted to Vietnam, where he
joined the USARV HQ Staff at Long Binh, becoming the deputy chief of design.
This position allowed him to participate in the design of many different
structures throughout the country.
In the summer of
1970, as he was leaving Vietnam, Larry decided to leave the Army and become a
consulting engineer. He retired from his consulting position in May 2010 after
40 years of work in water and wastewater engineering. His specialties included
the design and construction of treatment plants, pump stations and pipelines for
municipalities. While he was recognized as excelling in these responsibilities,
Larry’s most fulfilling activities was mentoring the newly graduated engineers
that would join the firm each year.
Larry remained very
active in his retirement. He loved to work with tools and he was passionate
about remodeling. No project was too small or too large for him to tackle. A
hobby he thoroughly enjoyed, which also displayed his perfectionism was
constructing a salt water aquarium in which he cared for 400 lbs. of live reef
rocks and many varieties of fish, coral and other ocean species. Larry’s
lifelong love though was being a witness for the Lord, always participating in
the church by leading bible studies for young men and women starting from his
high school days, through his time at West Point, and during his time in the
Army. He continued to participate in bible studies at his church in Houston, TX
during his retirement years, volunteering as a group leader, conducting hospital
visitations and manning phones in the prayer room.
Perhaps Larry’s
most powerful legacy is the indelible impact he made on his grandchildren. They
filled him with joy and laughter, and he, in return, poured into them wisdom and
love. Larry was a humble man who lived a life of exemplary character that
inspired all those who knew him well. Throughout his life he demonstrated an
unwavering commitment to those valued principles that are found in the West
Point motto: Duty, Honor, Country.
— Harry G. Rennagel, classmate
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