Larry Wayne Arnett, 78, of Kansas City, Mo., died peacefully Saturday morning surrounded, as always, by his beloved family.
Born in Sedalia, Mo., in 1948, Larry grew up on his family's farm on Route 3, attending a one-room schoolhouse until the ninth grade. He graduated from Smith-Cotton High School in 1965 and from Central Missouri State University in 1969. He then went to work as a chemist for Mobile Oil. He later earned a Master's degree in education, launching a three-decade career as a high school science teacher in Broken Arrow, Okla.; Lone Jack, Mo.; and Kansas City, Mo. He also served as a school principal in Chilhowee, Mo., Holden, Mo., and Independence, Mo.
One day, in 1979, he encountered a young coed named Dorothy working at the CMSU textbook library, where Larry had previously worked. He asked her out for coffee. She politely declined; she was the only person working during the lunch hour. Luckily for both of them, he was not easily dissuaded. He returned soon after with two cups of student-union coffee, and the two were married two years later. They eventually settled in Blue Springs, Mo., where together they raised a son and daughter. In 2002, they moved to the home they built together in Lone Jack, where they spent 22 cherished years.
Though he traveled extensively in his early 20s, Larry's life in adulthood revolved around home and family. He loved coaching his son in baseball and basketball, tending to the family's border collies -- Joker, Halo, Flealick, and Cosmo -- and summer vacations to visit family in Michigan. He was a voracious reader -- of anything, really, but especially books on boxing, baseball, and history, as well as the Kansas City Star and the New York Times. As a parent, he somehow never missed a Little League game or track meet, a ballet recital or spelling bee. Following his retirement from teaching, he filled his days with long walks and patio chats with Dorothy, or atop his John Deere tractor, or whiling away the hours in a pair of gardens, accompanied by a small portable radio tuned -- inevitably -- to NPR.
His family will dearly miss his warmth, generosity, and humor, his guidance during difficult times, and his valiant -- if losing -- battles with technology. They'll miss, too, his Sunday-morning pancakes, his robust collection of stocking caps, and the familiar sound of his snoring, coming from the next room.
He is survived by his wife, Dorothy Arnett, of Kansas City, Mo.; his son Dugan Arnett of Philadelphia, Pa.; his daughter Hadley Arnett and her husband Michael Dickert of Kansas City, Mo., as well as in-laws, cousins, nieces, and nephews. An only child, Larry was preceded in death by his father, Lloyd Arnett, and mother, Viola (Rauch) Davis.
A visitation will be held at 4 p.m. Friday, May 1, at Porter Funeral Home, 8535 Monrovia, Lenexa, KS, 66215. A memorial service will follow at 4:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to NPR or its Kansas City affiliate, KCUR