Lawrence Jason "Larry" Smith

My uncle Larry was warm, witty, gracious and accepting of everyone. Even as a child and later as a rebellious teenager, he treated me with respect, kindness and lots of love, trusting and believing in me. As a bit of a 'drama queen' in my teens, he channel that energy into theatre, giving me a stage name and encouraging me to use my dramatic flare in positive and healthy ways.
As an adult, he continued to show me the same level of love and care, and when he met my children, he extended the...

years ago, we were housetraining our dog Misty. We were all sitting at the dinner table when Dad said, "Well, Misty did it again today." (meaning she had made a boo-boo inside the house) My mom gasp and yelled, "Larry!! at the dinner table!" My dad replied, "no, Jean, it wasn't on the dinner table; she did it on the carpet." Everyone; including Mom just laughed like crazy.

When a parent dies; you feel like you aren't the same person anymore. We are defined by our parents-no matter how close or distant (proximity wise) you were to them. Your parents define you-no matter what. And there couldn't have been a better person to define me than he.