Larry and Bev decided to take their family on a long-
awaited vacation to Europe. This was a chance to spend
some quality time together and reconnect with their kids. It
was a trip everyone was looking forward to.
The pain started on the flight to Italy, beginning with a
throbbing sensation between Larry’s temples. In Florence, a
CAT scan revealed a mass in his brain, and the family was
forced to end the vacation prematurely. On the flight home,
the pilot had to fly at a lower altitude to minimize the
amount of pressure in Larry’s head. The next morning, he
was scheduled to go into surgery. At forty-eight years old,
Larry was battling a brain tumor.
His room wasn’t that difficult to find, as Jody later
recalled in her book: “It was the one where people
overflowed into the hallway.”^1 There was not enough space
to fit all the friends he had accumulated in his lifetime. And
in spite of the pain, Larry did his best to comfort his visitors.
There was a sense of urgency to his demeanor that day.
At one point, he asked his wife if she’d brought a pen and
paper, something that seemed odd to Jody. Later she asked
Bev what that was about, and Bev explained that Larry
wanted to write a letter to each of their children before going
into surgery. He didn’t know if he would make it out alive
and wanted to express his love, affirming what was so
unique and special about each of his children.
Larry lived another nine months before ultimately losing
his life to cancer.
That same year, Jody lost two other friends who were