LAWRENCE D. "LARRY" ALLISON

1945 - 2018

Lawrence D. "Larry" Allison, 73, beloved husband, father, brother and grandfather, died peacefully at his home in Des Plaines on Feb. 22. He was born Feb. 1, 1945, in Chicago to the late Mary Louise and Charles K. "Chuck" Allison and was the oldest of four children. He grew up in Wheaton, Ill., and Littleton, Colo., and was a 1963 graduate of Littleton High School, where he made the all-state wrestling team. He met the love of his life, Shirley J. (nee Kettl) Allison his junior year at Colorado State College (now University of Northern Colorado) in Greeley, Colo., and they married on Jan. 29, 1972. He was a proud member of Sigma Chi Fraternity and graduated in 1967 with a degree in history. In 1967 he proudly received an admission to the United States Navy Officer Candidate School to be a Naval Aviator though he was medically discharged shortly upon arrival. After a year teaching world history at Artesia High School in Artesia, Calif., he moved back to the Chicago area and found his calling as a police officer. He served the Cook County Sheriff's Police Department honorably for 32 years, most of that time as a homicide detective, and retired in 2002. A cop's cop, he led by example, and was a model of integrity for his three beloved daughters, Andra, Jocelyn and Rebecca. Larry was a devoted family man, and enjoyed taking his wife and children on many cross-country trips. He was a history buff and avid genealogist, and traced the family tree back to the early 1600s. His stories were legendary. Larry is preceded in death by his father, Charles, and his mother, Mary Louise. He is survived by his wife, Shirley J. Allison of Des Plaines; his daughters Andra A. (Jack) Moore of Fairfax Station, Va.; Jocelyn C. Allison of Brooklyn, N.Y.; Rebecca C. Allison of Des Plaines; and four grandchildren, Liam Porter, and Cormac, Sullivan and Maeve Moore, all of Fairfax Station, Va. He is also survived by two brothers, David (Patty) Allison of Glen Ellyn, and Bob Allison of Roselle; a sister, Nancy Allison of Lincoln City, Ore.; and a niece, Katie (Joe) Benka of Lombard. Arrangements are being handled by Oehler Funeral Home in Des Plaines. Memorial donations may be made to Alexian Brothers Hospice, Elk Grove Village, Ill., www.alexianbrothershealth.org/services/hospice.