Larrilyn Carr Love

1937 - 2020

Larrilyn Carr Love
May 26, 1937 - December 18, 2020
San Diego
Adventurous, fearless and compassionate, Larrilyn bid us farewell on December 18, 2020 with her loving husband Richard "Dick" Love at her side and set off on her next journey after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.Larrilyn will be dearly missed by her husband, Dick, her sister and brother, Robin (Ron) and Steve (Paula), her daughter and son, Whitney and Peter (Traci), her grandchildren, Phoebe and Eli, her nieces and nephew, Tori, Laura, and Steve (Lisa), her longtime friend, Domi, and the countless other family members, friends, fellow travelers, and colleagues whom she cherished.Born to Lawrence "Lawrie" Carr, former principal of San Diego High School, and Margaret "Eloise" Carr in 1937, Larrilyn was the daughter of lifelong educators and travelers. She was a woman ahead of her time. She grew up on Point Loma in San Diego, learning to swim and sail in the shadow of Shelter Island. She loved visiting her grandmother Bami's ranches in Lemon Grove and Santee, horseback riding and tending to the farm animals. She attended Dana Junior High and Point Loma High School with her future husband, Dick Love.Larrilyn graduated from the University of Oregon, where she was the Editor of the Oregana yearbook, Senator-at-large in the Associated Students of the University of Oregon, a member of Phi Theta Upsilon service honorary, and active in the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. Her senior year, she traveled as a "colonizer" to Hanover College to open a new Theta chapter.In 1960, Larrilyn and her younger sister, Robin, set off on a journey few women of the time would dare to take, traveling the world for a year on tramp steamers. They visited Australia, Egypt, England, continental Europe, and Japan, spending time in small villages where some inhabitants had never seen westerners before.Larrilyn moved to Sangley Point Naval Air Station in the Philippines in 1963 with her first husband, John "Jack" Edwards, where she gave birth to her two children, Whitney and Peter Edwards. With her dear friend Gail Burger, she ran the Officers' Wives Gift Shop, which piqued her interest in local artisans and importing. Larrilyn also traveled all around the Philippines, and to Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Taipei. She returned to the US in 1966 and settled with her family in Columbus, Ohio, enjoying summers in Northern Michigan's beloved Les Cheneaux Islands.To foster her love of travel, share her appreciation of the handicrafts she discovered in the Philippines, and provide economic opportunity for the potters, weavers and other artists she had met, she and Gail formed Bayan Bazaar Imports. They directly contracted with female artisans in developing countries and went on buying trips to the Philippines, Haiti, India and Nepal, shipping orders and selling retail goods out of the family barn.Well known in Columbus as an interior design, decorating, and restoration expert, Larrilyn worked for the Columbus Department of Recreation and Parks on a number of projects, most notably the reimaging and reorganization of The Columbus Zoo in the late 1970s, a process that included bringing Jack Hanna to Columbus. Larrilyn was an ardent preservationist of historic buildings and landmarks, and in 1977 helped found the Columbus Landmarks Foundation, which advocates for, promotes and preserves Columbus landmarks and neighborhoods. Imbued with a deep sense of justice, faith in people, and a passion to improve the lives of others, she was instrumental in the development of a highly successful revolving fund project focused on renovating rental properties in one of Columbus' most blighted neighborhoods and reselling them to community residents with mortgage payments lower than area rents, strengthening a sense of community pride and ownership. Larrilyn was also a passionate supporter of the arts and especially young artists and those who she felt hadn't gotten the recognition they deserved. She purchased their art, promoted them locally, and introduced them to gallery owners in Columbus and, occasionally, New York City. She became active in the Junior League, and while serving as President, was instrumental in acquiring the historic Kelton House and converting it into The Kelton House Museum and Garden. Larrilyn was offered a column in the Columbus Citizen Journal in 1980. An instant success, she became a juggernaut for improving her community. She couldn't go out without being recognized, and even received mail addressed only to "Larrilyn, Columbus Ohio". Larrilyn believed fervently in the work she was doing and her ability to positively impact the lives of others. She made things happen with her perseverance and her pen, and was never afraid to speak truth to people in power. Her influence and popularity is reflected in the fact that "Larrilyn" is now a common name in central Ohio.In 1986, she began working at WCMH TV, the Columbus NBC station, as commentator with her own signature segment. In 1991, she took a leave for a summer opportunity in Tuscany, and the station bought her a Handicam so she could record stories from the road. Later, she would take the camera on months-long trips, occasionally with a friend or her niece, Tori, through Africa, and then Southeast Asia, where she filed stories from locations as diverse as Sulawesi funerals, monasteries of saffron-robed and Madonna-loving monks, orangutan sanctuaries, and a former headhunter village that could only be reached via a two day trip up river by outboard. Larrilyn returned to her beloved San Diego in 1997 to be closer to family and friends. With colleagues, she started a production company, Vagabond Parrot Productions, and began developing a backpacking travel show for seniors called "Freefall After Fifty", which garnered serious interest from the Travel Channel.Just before her 50th high school reunion, Larrilyn became reacquainted with her old friend Dick and found the love of her life. She and Dick traveled, often with both of their families in tow, to exotic locales such as Antarctica, the Galpagos Islands, Africa, Southeast Asia, the British Virgin Islands, and the Peruvian Amazon River. They were married in a private ceremony in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho in 2009.Throughout her life, Larrilyn used her formidable sense of space and color to create remarkable living spaces for herself and others, whether designing a new modern island cottage, renovating homes, or reimagining a former carriage house. Her work was featured in both local and national publications and led to her working for a time as an editor for Better Homes and Gardens. As a mother, she was always loving, supportive, and positive. She gave her children room to grow and develop their own personalities, never imposing her will but always ready to help. She traveled extensively with both of her children, and her daring and her sense of wonder for the world remain an inspiration to both of them.To capture Larrilyn's spirit with words is nearly impossible. Larrilyn was equally at home and elegant at an arts fundraiser, amidst the hectic bustle of newspaper and tv news rooms, cooking blueberry pancakes over a fire on a rocky shore, or on a trek through Africa or along the glaciers of southern Chile. She was friends with governors, senators, astronauts, artists, designers, gardeners, stonemasons, and the late night cleaning staff of every place she worked. Larrilyn saw immeasurable beauty in the world and the people around her, and spread that infectious joy. So genuinely interested in people, she coaxed the life stories out of countless strangers, many of whom later became close friends. In going through thousands of photos taken over more than 80 years, it's hard to find one in which she doesn't have a thousand-watt smile.Though Alzheimer's disease robbed Larrilyn of many of her memories over the past years, she never lost that glowing, irresistible smile, her ready laugh, and her unshakeable love of humanity. Bon voyage, Larrilyn. You will be missed.In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Alzheimer's San Diego (www.alzsd.org) or the social service charity of your choice, because "helping people" remained something Larrilyn cared about to the very end.