Lawrence “Larry” D. Adamson died peacefully March 16, 2018, at age 72.
Born Jan. 5, 1946, Larry graduated in 1964 from Washington High School in Kansas City, Kan. He studied economics and psychology at Kansas City Kansas Community College, then known as Kansas City Junior College.
Most of Larry’s career was in sales, but he also worked as a production supervisor at Colt Electronics. His work in sales included Montgomery Wards, and other businesses until he went to work for Radio Shack. Larry’s decades with Radio Shack allowed him to combine his personal love of electronics with his uncanny ability to chat with anyone and everyone.
Larry loved to laugh, but even more he loved to make others laugh. He always had a new joke— not to mention several old ones — to share with clients, friends and family.
The first-born of four siblings, Larry cherished his family above all else. But, his family wasn’t limited to blood relatives and in-laws. He counted a number of close friends as leaves on his family tree.
Larry was an audiophile for more than 60 years. He was the go-to guy anytime someone needed help setting up a stereo system or advice about the latest equipment. As important as the audio hardware was to him, the music coming out of it was even more dear. If there is a name-that-tune gameshow in the sky, you can bet he is a winner every time. Larry could name hundreds of artists, their songs, the years their music was released and the labels that backed the musicians.
Another of Larry’s passions was science fiction — books, movies, television shows, etc. For his friends that shared this interest, Larry’s conversations about the “Star Trek” series and movies, author Robert Heinlein, the “Star Wars” saga, the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the theories of Carl Sagan and countless other sci-fi topics were always a great way to spend an hour or two. However, the favorite books that Larry listed on his Facebook page reveal a much broader field of interest. Those must-reads include: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Scarlet Letter, Animal Farm, Ulysses, White Fang, Winnie the Pooh, The Grapes of Wrath and Moby Dick.
Although Larry never had any children of his own, he took great delight in the children of his friends and enriched their lives. He was a faithful son, beloved brother and loyal friend.
Survivors include three sisters and a sister-in-law, all of the Kansas City metro area: Susie Adamson (Kathi Krouch sister-in-law); Karen Adamson; and Janice L. Adamson. Larry was preceded in death by his parents James and Helen Adamson.
Following cremation, a celebration of Larry’s life is planned for 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, March 25, at Jerry’s Sports Pub, 8048 Leavenworth Road in Kansas City, Kan.
The family suggests memorial contributions to any of the following:
KCPT-TV Channel 19 Public Television
KCUR-89.3 National Public Radio
American Lung Association
American Liver Foundation
American Cancer Society
Larry lived in my neighborhood when I was a kid. We used to walk to White Church Elementary school in the early grades, and he always had interesting things to say. He had the gift of gab at age six.
My family moved away and sadly, I never saw him again. Farewell old childhood friend.
Only knew him thru facebook, I had posted some genealogy photos and he wanted to know if we might be related “Bill” family…Ruben Bill or Ruben young son may have married one of his mothers sister (his Aunt)… Never could confirm but he seemed to know the “Bill” side…
Thank you for sharing his life, sorry didn’t get to know him too well.
He sound like a very loving person.
My condolences to the family.
I will miss you “Uncle Larry”, a bunch of us went to the ZZ TOP concert and the went over to hang at “Uncle Larrys” much to our surprise he had about 1000 albums and every Judas Priest album ever made, we played lots of darts too and had a few brews too. Rock On “Uncle Larry”