Larry Covalciuc

1941 - 2024

Larry Covalciuc

July 17, 1941 - June 29, 2024

Council Bluffs, IA - Larry died on Saturday, June 29th, while cycling near Valentine, NE, killed by a driver who did not remain on the scene. Larry was doing what he loved most, riding his bicycle in nature, enjoying the beautiful scenery, and making new friends who also loved bikes. Larry always liked cycling but started doing organized rides in 2001 when he urged his daughter to do RAGBRAI, Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, a 506-mile ride that year. The difficulty did not deter him as he went on to complete 21 RAGBRAI tours (including many century days he was proud of), 7 Cycle Oregon Rides, 3 Ride the Rockies, 3 Bike Maine's and 2 Bike Minnesota rides. His wife Marylin, often joined him, also doing 4 RAGBRAI's, 1 Bike Maine, and both Minnesota rides. In 2017 his goddaughter, Molly Shiley, joined Larry and Marylin on RAGBRAI and he spoke often of how greatly he enjoyed their time together. He loved meeting new people and learning about their lives, where they lived, and what they accomplished. His family often felt like they were with him everywhere he went because of the detailed stories he would tell them. His age did not dissuade him, even at age 82, from signing up for charity rides and tours and was as fit as he had ever been, walking every day with his wife at least four miles and riding with his fellow cycling group regularly.

Larry's other passion was fine art photography. He received many awards and was accepted into many calls for art including shows in California, South Carolina, Idaho, Colorado, Nebraska, and Iowa. From an early age, Larry began making photographs using a dark room in the family's basement and continued his photography throughout his life, studying and attending classes with mentors such as Howard Bond, Paul Caponigro, John Sexton, Alan Ross, and John Paul Caponigro, traveling with photography groups to various locations, most recently to Iceland. Larry focused on black and white landscape and nature photography. His work can be found in multiple galleries and online. His passion was nature and seeing details in everything around him from the rock formations in the Southwest to the coastlines of Prince Edward Island, the Rocky Mountains, and the Pacific Northwest. Arguably some of his best work was taken in the Midwest, whether the trees at Lake Manawa, the flowers at Lauritzen Gardens or those grown by his wife, or the sunsets and snow scenes in his backyard.

Larry was an entrepreneur and founded his own company with his wife, Custom Electronics, in Omaha, NE in 1967. He started the business in their rented house in South Omaha and opened their first store in 1969. Over the years there were multiple locations including stores in Lincoln and Omaha, specializing in custom installations of large systems. The business was focused on a passion for performance and always delivering the best customer service. Larry and Marylin retired in March of 2018 and sold the business to long-standing employee, Todd Pierson, who has continued the customer-focused high-end audio business that thrives today. Larry loved helping his customers and educating others on how quality audio should sound.

Larry and Marylin were married for over 60 years, and their devotion to each other as best friends, business partners, and cycling and traveling companions, was an example for everyone. Larry loved spending time with Marylin, regardless of what they were doing. Larry's love for nature carried over to his son, Randy, and daughter Kristi. They share memories of spending time at their family cabin in Minnesota and camping as children. Larry also had a love for baking apple pie and taught his grandson how to continue this tradition. He was born in Omaha, NE, the son of Ann (an accomplished oil painter) and Eli Covalciuc (an entrepreneur Lithography business owner). Larry attended South High School and took college engineering courses at University of Nebraska at Omaha. Larry was preceded in death by his mother, Ann; father, Eli; brother, Rick; nephew, Chris Kotulski.

Larry is survived by his wife, Marylin Covalciuc; his son, Randy Covalciuc; daughter, Kristi Covalciuc; son-in-law, Patrick Freeman; grandson, Kellen Freeman; sister-in-law Val Covalciuc; goddaughter, Molly Shiley (Bruckner). Larry loved spending time with all of his beloved nieces, nephews, and cousins. Friends from business, photography, cycling, and other hobby groups will cherish his memories.

A celebration of life is planned for September 14th, 2024, 4-6 p.m. at Gallery 1516, 1516 Leavenworth St. Omaha, NE.

In lieu of flowers, consider donating to one of Larry's favorite charities in his honor:

Gallery 1516 https://www.gallery1516.org/donate.

Lauritzen Gardens https://www.lauritzengardens.org/Give/.

Iowa Bicycle Coalition, https://ibc.app.neoncrm.com/forms/support-bicycling.