Larry Henry

1941 - 2024

Larry Wayne Henry lived a wonderful life full of love and laughter, and was the first person to tell you, "success only comes with hard work." He loved everyone, no matter where they came from, and knew how to make anyone smile. Larry passed away the morning of October 4, 2024. He was 83.

Larry was born April 2, 1941, in Mt. Zion, Illinois, and grew up working on a farm. From the earliest days of his childhood, he dreamed of becoming a sportswriter. If you were lucky enough to know him, you'd have known that when he set a goal for himself, he was going to do everything in his power to achieve it. Larry went on to attend Millikin University in Decatur, IL, and earned a liberal arts degree studying mostly English.

Aside from his goal of becoming a sportswriter, Larry loved acting. He starred in a few plays at his university, and wound up getting his shot at Hollywood when he auditioned for "It's a Man's World." Though he only made it to the screen test after being called back, he'd tell you that just the experience was more than enough. He was also in love with reading, and had a library of over 800 books in his house. One of his favorite books was "One Shot at Forever" by Chris Ballard, the story of a high school baseball team from Larry's hometown.

Larry also possessed a crazy passion for running and fitness, and would still run up to five miles a day into his late 70's. He was a regular at his local YMCA in Monroe, Washington, and he would often bring them some of his homemade chocolate chip cookies to brighten their days.

After his acting side quest, Larry made his way back to pursuing his dream of sportswriting. He landed a job working for a local newspaper, and began working his magic. He started out writing for the weekly paper, then the daily, and in no time he'd worked his way into the sports department.

Larry's first sports job was simply answering phones and reporting scores to the writers. Though it wasn't as glorious as he had hoped, he knew that if he wanted to succeed, he'd have to put in the work. It didn't take him long, as he was eventually promoted to be a sideline writer for a high school football team. He'd done it. He was a sportswriter. He started out by watching the games and then rushing back to the newspaper to finish the stories by his midnight deadline. He remembered the pressure of meeting his deadlines, but still loved the experience. "The most gratifying thing was the excitement of seeing your story in the newspaper."

Larry was a long way from where he started, but he was also a long way from where his dream would take him. In 1977, he made the move to Everett, Washington, where he became a sports columnist for the Everett Herald. He started out writing for the Washington Huskies football team and the Seattle Mariners, but his diligence and love for writing took him much further. He said that it didn't matter what he was writing about, as long as it had to do with sports.

Larry worked for the Herald for 28 years and interviewed some of the greatest athletes of all time, including Ken Griffey Jr., Gary Payton, Michael Jordan, Randy Johnson and Alex Rodriguez, to name a few. "It was the greatest job a person could have," Larry said. One of the things that made him such a unique writer was that when interviewing the athletes, he made sure to ask them a question that they had never been asked. "It was like throwing them a curveball and seeing how far they could hit it."

After over two decades writing for The Herald, Larry won the first place award for Associated Press Sports Editors' best column writing in 2000, and also won first place in the SPJ Pacific Northwest Excellence in Journalism Competition in 2004. If you were to ask him why he became a sportswriter, though, he would never tell you that it was to win these awards. In his last article before retirement, he said, "the real riches come from the people you meet." Larry was all about the experience. No matter what he did, he made sure to enjoy every moment of it.

Though he had achieved his dreams and was awarded for his work, he'd never bring it up unless you asked. In his entire career as a sportswriter, only once did he ever ask for signatures. He had the Seattle Supersonics sign pennants for his children, to bring them happiness.

After retirement in 2005, he got stir crazy, and became a flower deliveryman in 2016. He said that the best part about delivering flowers was seeing the smiling faces after his deliveries.

That's the kind of man that Larry Henry was. He loved everyone, and everyone loved him. He made every effort he could to make the people around him happy. He was a true man of character, as humble as they come. Larry lived and breathed love and kindness. He greatly treasured relationships with family and friends, and was quick to forgive those who crossed him. He also had a secret chocolate chip cookie recipe, the same ones he'd bring to the YMCA. If you were lucky enough to try them, you certainly held a place in his heart, and hopefully he held a place in yours.

Larry is survived by his wife Rae of 39 years, brother Donald, son Robert (Rebecca), daughters Mary and Stephanie (Jonathan) and his grandchildren Madison, Jacob, Joseph, and Kailee. He is preceded in death by his parents Robert Barton Henry Sr. and Elloween, his older brother Robert "Bart," and son Michael.