Larry Eugene Baum

Larry Baum passed away peacefully with his family by his side on April 16th, 2024, from Vascular Dementia. He will be greatly missed.

Larry was born October 14th, 1940, in Boise, Idaho to Laurence and Esther (Goddard) Baum. He was raised in the Nampa area and graduated from Nampa High School in 1959. On June 7th, 1963 he married Gayle Parkinson and they made their first home in Nampa, Idaho. That same year he joined the Idaho Army National Guard. Larry and Gayle had two sons, the first arriving in 1966 and the second in 1969.

Larry started driving concrete truck for Idaho Concrete in 1959, a job which lasted for 18 years. In 1974, he bought a small bar in Warren, Idaho; an old mining town North of McCall. Starting on Memorial Day and ending during hunting season, the family made the weekly trip every Friday from Middleton to Warren so the bar could be opened for the weekend and then would return home Sunday night.

Larry's dream to open a snowmobile shop became reality when he acquired the Sno-Jet dealership with the condition to open a shop in the McCall area. In 1977, he purchased land in Lakefork and built a shop with living quarters on the second floor and moved his family there. Over the years, he was a dealer for Scorpion, Arctic Cat, and Ski Doo snowmobiles. He added Honda ATVs and Suzuki motorcycles along the way. His business grew and became very successful. He handled sales, parts, clothing, phone and whatever else was needed along with a mechanic, with Gayle doing books on nights and weekends. Larry loved every minute of it. He sold the business in 2000 to retire and moved back to Nampa.

It didn't take long until Larry and Gayle were off on another adventure to Daytona Beach, Florida. They purchased a house near the Daytona International Speedway, where Larry and Gayle could walk to the many races that occurred throughout the winter months. They later changed their winter address to a retirement park along Indian River in Edgewater, Florida. Larry and Gayle spent their winter months there for over 20 years.

Along the way, Larry made many great friends that have been by his side through good times and bad, with memories that grow wilder with time. It was a life well lived.

Larry is survived by his wife of 60 years, Gayle, his sons, Lonny (Robin), and Aaron (Angie Nelson), his sister Kathy Tuttle (Jim), and two granddaughters, Logann and Lauryn.

The family would like to thank Donna for the loving care of Larry for the past four months. They would also like to thank First Choice Hospice and Chaplin Bruce for all their help during Larry's final month.

Graveside services will be held at Melba Cemetery, at 11:00am on May 4th' , 2024. Memories and stories will be shared after the service at Bucks Cafe and Bar in Melba.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to West Valley Humane Society, 5801 Graye Ln. Caldwell, Id 83607 or First Choice Hospice, 12400W Overland Rd. Boise, Id 83709.