Larry Wayne Darr

Larry Wayne Darr was born October 19, 1939. He was known as a brother, United States Marine, husband, and father who took great pride in each of those roles. He was a mountain of a man and had an even larger personality that would fill any room – no matter the size.
The youngest of 8 children raised on a small farm in Hannibal, MO. He spent much of his youth helping around the farm and house and exploring the outdoors near his home hunting, fishing and best of all swimming in Bear Creek.
He enlisted in the US Marine Corps at age 17, being stationed mostly in Okinawa, Japan. Serving his country as a Marine and being part of that fraternal brotherhood was a time he was incredibly proud of and happy to tell anyone about.
After completing his duty to the Marines, it set the tone for the remainder of his life. He was an avid world traveler always looking for an adventure visiting many countries in South and Central America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. One of his most memorable adventures was hitchhiking from Anchorage, Alaska to Hannibal, Missouri and back. He often spoke of those experiences and encouraged everyone around him to "see the world!"
Larry's post military careers were many, but the most impactful to him was commercial saturation diving primarily in the Gulf of Mexico but also many foreign countries. Most of his career was spent with Oceaneering International until opening his own company, Ocean-Tec, with several business partners. Here he made life long friendships like Ken Pierce and would routinely beat him in checkers when they had downtime on the dive boats.
During his time as a commercial diver, he met the love of his life, Monica Bertels, who were introduced to each other by his sister, Sue. They married in January of 1978 and moved to Angleton, TX where they would mostly reside until his passing. This was the start of what he would call his "greatest adventure of his life".
Larry and Monica had 3 children – Rad, Larry "Wade", and Colleen. His family was the one thing he was most proud of throughout his life. He was always available and present for anything his family needed acting as the boys Scout Master for many years – these years he'd later describe as some of his fondest memories he had with his sons. Being in the woods teaching them outdoors survival and just generally getting to spend time with them. Being the handyman he was, Larry always had one of the 2 boys with him fixing stuff around the house or cars, passing that knowledge along to his children.
His later years, he was blessed with 4 grandchildren who all adored him immensely and he did them as well.
Larry struggled with Dementia/ Alzheimer's for the final years of his life, but always continued to ask Monica to get married or tell his kids how much she meant to him. Larry succumbed to this disease in the early hours of September 15th in Lake Jackson surrounded by loved ones, just one month shy from turning 84 years old.
Larry is survived by his wife, Monica; children, Rad, Larry "Wade" and Colleen; his son and daughters in law, Leslie, Tim and Lana; 4 grand children, Graham, Owen, Weston, and Zella; his sister Sue, and countless friends and neighbors who he's made an impact with over the years. He was preceded in death by his mother, Zella, father, Frank, and 3 brothers and 3 sisters.
Larry Wayne Darr is already missed and will continue to be missed dearly by his loved ones. We love you tremendously and in his words "everyday is a beautiful day". Someone once said "don't be sad that I'm gone, be happy that I lived".
A Service will be held on Friday, September 22, 2023 at 4:00 p.m. at Stroud Funeral Home.