Larry Dean Airington
1947 – 2024
Larry, the sole author of the Christmas letter for 30+ years, always the planner, wrote his own obituary.
Larry, age 76, passed away in Edmond, Oklahoma at home on Monday, April 22 surrounded by his caring family. He was the oldest child born to Norman and Merle Airington on October 1, 1947. His brother, Joe, was born in 1950.
He was raised in a loving home in southwest Oklahoma City. He graduated from U.S. Grant High School in 1965. He graduated from Oklahoma University with his B.S. in Chemical Engineering in 1972, and his MBA in 1975. He had part time jobs mowing lawns, sacking groceries, retail sales, slinging burgers, scooping ice cream, unloading freight trailers, and city delivery. He mastered driving the big rigs in metro traffic, and said that type of job satisfaction was unequaled, except for building Habitat for Humanity homes. He worked 2 summers at Tinker AFB chem labs on civil service engineering apprentice programs. He joined the U.S. Army Reserves in 1969 and served 6 years as a Huey helicopter airframe mechanic. He was honorably discharged with the rank of E-5.
He met the love of his life, Susan Rigg, at a volleyball game at his parents’ home in 1974. They were married in 1975. Also, that year he went to work for Phillips Petroleum in Oklahoma City. He served in multiple petroleum engineering positions in Norway, Denver, OKC, and Houston. He retired for the third and final time in 2015; 40 years of service. He worked all the continental oil and gas fields from Alaska to California to the Gulf of Mexico. Larry was a Registered Professional Engineer in Texas. He said his career in the oil patch was the best choice he could have ever made.
Susan and Larry had three of the greatest children ever, Megan, Emily, and Travis. The parents either coached, were Team Mom/Dad, and/or supported their kids in all their activities from preschool through college. Larry loved sports and played intramural/community league basketball, softball, and volleyball, until his children took up those and other athletic endeavors. He was fortunate to have a wife who loved to watch college football, any OU sport, and the Oklahoma City Thunder, as much as he did. Larry and Susan were members of Methodist Churches in Oklahoma City, Denver, Sugar Land, and Edmond.
In retirement Larry loved spending time with his family, which expanded by four; with the most precious grandchildren a grandparent could ask for. He and Susan also cared for their parents in their glory years. Two other loves of Larry’s were car shows and traveling the U.S. Throughout his life he owned several collector cars and toured nearly all 50 states and most of the National Parks. He also did extensive genealogy research of his family’s lines. He was proud of his Anglo-Irish-Scotch-Hispanic-Choctaw-Norwegian heritage.
Larry was predeceased by his grandparents and parents, and brother-in-law, Bill. He is survived by his wife Susan, daughter Megan, daughter Emily (Dan), son Travis (Alexis), and loving grandchildren Hudson, Hadley, Braden, and Finley. He is also survived by his brother Joe (Suzanne), in-laws (Barb), Emily (Jim), (Jackie), and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. The family would like to thank Dr’s Pollock, Grignol, Tinoco, Ellis, and Keefer for their skill and care in adding decades of quality life to Larry’s.
Larry was cremated and his ashes spread at his childhood home in Oklahoma City in which he was raised, his grandparents homestead in Caddo, Oklahoma, and in the Rocky Mountains, the vacation place which he and the family attended each summer for 40 plus years.
Dad/Larry will be deeply missed, which is the mark and measure of a noble and worthy man to be honored.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at Matthews Funeral Home in Edmond, Oklahoma, Saturday, June 1st at 1pm. Hawaiian shirts or college shirts are encouraged at the service for those in attendance.
In lieu of flowers the family asks donations be made to the Wounded Warrior Project (https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/) or the donors choice of charity in Larry’s name.
We will be live streaming this service in an effort to accommodate those people that wish to attend but are not able to. To watch the service CLICK HERE to go to our YouTube page. Click on ‘Videos’, then ‘Live Streams’.
Larry was a friend of mine.
A nicer person you would never find.
An unassuming quiet fun loving guy,
Words like pleasant, cheerful and positive all precisely apply.
Susan and their kids were an immense source of pride.
Through his numerous medical procedures they were on his side.
I knew him in OKC and Norway,
And I remember to to this day,
The sound of his laugh was second to none,
When you were with Larry you were having fun!
For those interested in the greatest hits according to Dad I have created a Spotify playlist either click on this link https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4CVtfFzcpDUspLxOng9P9s?si=7773ad7bfa324452.