Larry Ray Smith, born March 24, 1944, Little Rock, Arkansas, departed this life July 3, 2020.
Preceded in death by parents, Gladys and Willie Eugene (Bill) Smith of Little Rock; son, Stephen Ray Smith of Fayetteville; and brother, Randy Smith of Greenbrier, Arkansas.
Larry is survived by two grandchildren, Katlyn Baker (Ryan) of Prairie Grove and Nicholas Ray Smith and fiancée, Emilie Hotchkiss of Fayetteville; two great-grandchildren, Declan Duane Baker and Lexi Rae Baker of Prairie Grove. Larry is also survived by sisters, Wanda Gerke (Joe) of Little Rock and Tina Johnston (John) of Bryant; his uncle, Gary French (Regina) of Maumelle who was more like a brother; and sister-in-law, Frankie Smith. Surviving nephews are Matthew (Angela) and Robert (Brittany) Gerke of Little Rock, Jeremy Johnston (Brittany) of Jacksonville, Brandon Johnston of Stuttgart and Daniel Smith (Amy) of Maumelle; and one niece, Amy Temple (Dave) of Malawi, Africa.
Larry attended Little Rock public schools and was a 1962 graduate of Little Rock Central High School. Larry was a graduate of the University of Arkansas School of Architecture. Upon graduation, he worked for Warren Seagraves in Fayetteville as well as the team of E. Faye Jones, famous for his works such as Thorncrown Chapel. Larry established his own architecture business and worked for many years in partnership with Carl Russell. In 1991, Larry became a staff architect in the University of Arkansas Facilities Department where he practiced for almost 30 years until his passing.
Larry was an avid University of Arkansas sports fan and was privileged to be a member of the STAT crew for the Arkansas football and basketball games for close to 40 years as well as serving at times on the track STAT crew.
Graveside services for Larry will be held at 2:00 PM, Tuesday, July 7, 2020, at the Baptist Ford Cemetery, Greenland, AR. The family respectfully asks that you observe social distancing protocol and masks during close contact.
There is no scheduled visitation.
Larry was an amazing friend and a wonderful person to everyone he met……His passing is a tremendous loss to all of us who worked with him as his knowledge and passion for the Code was something I truly admired and can feel blessed that I was his friend for the past 18 years.
Larry was a very sweet man I feel honored to get to know him and be his friend. He will be greatly missed.
Larry will be missed by everyone who knew him. He was the most knowledgeable person about Arkansas Razorback sport history that I ever met. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.
I have known Larry for 40 plus years. He was a great friend and i will miss him. He was the go to guy for all my questions concerning all aspects of construction.
I have only known Larry a few years, but he always had a smile for everyone. I will always remember the two yogurts at lunch time and our talks about dogs. He was always very helpful when I needed information and I have missed him since March since we were on different work schedules. My condolences to his family and I am so sorry for your loss.
Larry was a friend to all and I never heard him say anything unkind about anyone. I always appreciated his listening ear as well as his attention to detail. He will be sorely missed. Prayers to the whole family.
Larry was a brilliant architect and a great friend. He will be missed very much and his family has my condolences and prayers.
Larry was a gentleman and a gentle man. He is sorely missed. Sincere condolences to Larry’s family and many friends.
Larry was my valued, treasured friend for the past 16 years we knew each other and worked together. My heart personally aches for this loss for all who knew him, and especially for his family, who he loved dearly as evidenced by all the fond memories he shared in conversation over the years. I will miss him greatly as will so many others. Special thoughts and prayers go up for all of the family.
It was with profound sadness that I learned of Larry’s passing. We were childhood friends, graduated from Central High together attended the University of Arkansas together and both had a passion for the Arkansas Razorbacks. Larry and I and another friend were fishing buddies through high school, and now I miss them both. The light in my life is a bit dimmer now with his passing. Special condolences to Larry’s sister, Wanda.
Very sorry to hear of the of the of Larry. My condolences to the family. I sent to LRCHS with Larry and graduated with him and graduated in 1962.
So sorry to hear that one of our ‘62 Tigers has come passed.
I am so sorry for your loss and pray for extra strength as you go through this dark time in your life.
As a fellow classmate of Larry’s at LRCHS Class of ’62, I remember him well. He was always soft spoken, kind and caring. I’m so thankful that I had the opportunity to meet him.
Larry, my dear friend, taken away far too soon. Over the years we had many occasions to laugh together, cry together, and discuss many world and personal problems. You will be missed by all who knew you, and I will especially miss the time we spent each year as we celebrated your birthday. My prayers go out to the family.
Larry was a very good Architect. He could use that skill to solve problems, and that is what he did for many years. More than that, Larry was always a good friend. I loved to hear him laugh and tell stories. He honestly enjoyed helping people. He was a good man and will be missed.
Larry and I went to LRCHS together, in fact we dated for quite awhile. He was one of the kindest and sweetest I have ever known. Some how years later he found out my mother had cancer and stopped by to visit her. That is the type of man he was. Even though I haven seen or heard from him in 50+ years I will always have fond memories of him. I send my deepest condolences to his family and many friends I am sure he made over the years. May God comfort and strengthen you as you go through this time of grief.
Very sorry to hear about Larry. We worked in the same team for the past 3 years. My favorite memories of him are the days he was telling me stories about his past projects with Fay Jones and when he was proudly showing me pictures of some of his brick design solutions. My condolences to his family, I am so sorry for your loss.
Larry has entertained me with stories of his decades of design projects, his STAT crew experiences, and family for the eight years he has been my colleague and friend. He was a source of support during my licensing exams and always eager to help when problems came up. He will be greatly missed.
We at the Code Officials of Arkansas are so sorry to hear of the passing of Larry. He was one of our most dedicated members I cannot remember of him missing very many meetings in the time that I have been the Coordinator since 2007. He was always so kind, but quiet. It will not be the same without him being there.
Our thoughts are with you all,
Kim
COAR Coordinator
Sweet, friendly, and thoughtful. Larry welcomed me as a new coworker and patiently answered all my questions about University buildings and their histories. Right away I could tell he loved things that were well-made and lovingly crafted. He had a slow and gentle way about him that was endearing and I will miss him and his treasure trove of knowledge. God Bless, Larry, and enjoy designing cathedrals in the great beyond. The next time I see wonderful clouds or stately rock faces, I will think of you. My sympathies to his family and friends, may you find peace in his memory.
I met Larry in the fall of 1970 at the start of the football season. Starting then and for the next 47 years, we worked together on the Razorback football and basketball Stats Crew. For some of those years, we sat side by side at basketball games…………… for most of those years, we sat side by side at football games. I’m not sure how many round trips we made to Little Rock and Pine Bluff for games over those years……… more than 100 for sure.
Larry had an amazing understanding of both sports and was also a wealth of knowledge regarding the history of Razorback athletics. This made sitting with him at the games a lot more interesting. He was a master of detail and did a near perfect job with his stats responsibilities.
However, what I really want to write in this remembrance is a note regarding his character. When you are as avid a fan as Larry was and many of us are, there are times when it is easy to get angry with a player, a coach, an official — heck, even the weather. But, not Larry……….. except once.
The year was 1978. All American Sidney Moncrief was the star of our team. We were playing an all-important game against Texas in Barnhill. Larry was sitting in the last chair at the end of the Scorer’s Table with legendary Texas coach Abe Lemons directly to his right. I was on Larry’s left.
A questionable foul was called on Moncrief in the first minute of play. A second marginal foul was called on him less than a minute later. When a third totally outrageous foul was called on him in the fourth minute of play, Larry exploded. Before the ref’s whistle stopped blowing, Larry slammed his hand and his pencil down on the table with an ear splitting bang. It hit the table with such force that by the time I looked up, the pencil was 15 feet in the air and headed to center court. It landed on the Hog’s nose.
This could turn out to be a very bad situation……… technical foul called, removed from the Stats Crew, humiliation, etc. Abe got out of his chair, walked to center court, pointed to the pencil so the refs would know why he was out there, calmly picked it up, and walked back to our table. Placing it in front of Larry, he said in a matter-of-fact manner, “Well heck, I thought you Stats guys were supposed to be neutral.” Larry responded, “Sorry coach.” And that was the end of that.
After all the games and all the road trips that incident was the one and only time I saw Larry get angry……… one time in 47 years. Rather unbelievable I would say.
Larry may be the most gentle person I have ever known. His character was consistent, steady, and reliable. His disposition was always peaceful. It was a pleasure to be his friend. He will be missed.
Bob Harriell
Larry and I were matched together in Const projects for lots of years starting in the 70’s on Segraves projects. When he and Carl form their
Partnership we would do lots of work together on Design Build Projects all over NW Arkansas. He and Carl would become great trusted friends as well as working partners. I can look back at all the structures we were involved in here NWArkansas that are still giving service to the community today. To you and Carl— God Bless my Friends!