Larry Maynard Smith

Larry Maynard Smith was born December 18, 1933 in Omaha, Nebraska to Maynard and Hazel (Bull) Smith. He attended Rose Hill Elementary in Omaha, as well as District 48 school near 180th and Pacific until moving to Elkhorn where he attended school through his first three years of high school. He graduated high school from the Wentworth Military Academy in Lexington, Missouri in 1951. He spent two years of junior college at Wentworth, before transferring to the University of Nebraska in Lincoln for one semester. Larry ultimately earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Midland College in Fremont, Nebraska in 1956. As a young boy, Larry was active in baseball and football, and was a member of the very first Elkhorn High School football team in 1949. He also even played on the Midland College baseball team. Larry was drafted into the United States Army from November 1956 until his honorable discharge in July 1957. Despite his short time in the Army, he achieved the rank of Private, and earned his paratrooper wings as a member of the 101st Airborne Division stationed in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Larry married Patricia Lighter in December 1966 in Elkhorn, Nebraska, and to this union, a son was born, Maynard Lawrence. Larry also became the step dad of Liz and Ann. Larry made his home in Elkhorn throughout his life. Larry was the owner and operator of Elkhorn Oil Company and also was a commercial pilot. Aviation would define Larry’s work and passion. He learned to fly in Fremont, where he first soloed on August 17, 1952. He went on to earn his Private, Commercial, Instrument, Multi-Engine, Flight Instructor, and Airline Transport Pilot Certificates. He loved being an aircraft owner, and was a flight instructor at Wahoo, Fremont, Millard airports, and most recently as a simulator instructor at the UNO Aviation Institute. He was named the Nebraska Flight Instructor of the Year in 2001, which led to him earning the FAA Central Region Instructor of the Year, and made him a finalist for the National Instructor of the Year. In 2007, the FAA awarded Larry the Wright Brothers “Master Pilot” Award, for his 50 plus years of dedication to aviation safety. Larry was highly active with numerous local civic organizations, as well. He has been a member of DeMolay, Waterloo Lodge No. 102 A.F. & A.M., Luna Chapter 169 Order of the Eastern Star, Scottish Rite, York Rite, Tangier Shrine, where he earned his 50 year pins at both Waterloo Lodge No. 102 and the Scottish Rite, and as a long time proficient member, he was appointed by the Grand Lodge of Nebraska as an Apprentice Deputy Custodian. Larry will be remembered as a genuine, caring, simple, honest man, who was sincere, trustworthy and respectful of others. He had an affinity for a bowl of ice cream or pecan delights, and could draw a laugh with some of his creative sayings, such as “he looked like a cow at a new gate” if someone were bewildered, or describing a very hot day as “it was 110 degrees in the shade, with no shade”. He had no use for wastefulness, and was bothered by people who couldn’t count change. Larry would do anything to help someone who asked, and was a man of few words, but always spoke from the heart. He loved his family and cherished being a father and grandfather. Larry died on Wednesday, February 26, 2014 at the Lakeside Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska at the age of 80 years, 2 months, and 8 days. He was preceded in death by his parents Maynard and Hazel. Larry is survived by his son and daughter-in-law Maynard and Alicia Smith of Elkhorn, and their children Ruby, Lucy, Grace, and Blake, his sister Sharron Gilson of Elkhorn, and his niece and nephews Renee Kellogg, Sean Gilson, and Seth Gilson. Larry M. Smith, age 80, of Elkhorn, died 2/26/14. Preceded in death by parents Maynard and Hazel. Survived by son and daughter-in-law Maynard and Alicia Smith of Elkhorn, and their children Ruby, Lucy, Grace, and Blake, sister Sharron Gilson, and niece and nephews: Renee Kellogg, Sean Gilson, and Seth Gilson of Des Moines. Funeral service 11 AM Monday at the funeral home in Elkhorn with military honors by Benson VFW Post 2503. Visitation Sunday 1-6 PM with family receiving friends from 4-6 PM and Masonic services at 6 PM at the funeral home. Inurnment Prospect Hill Cemetery. Memorials to the Omaha Home for Boys or the family to be donated to other charities.

Larry Maynard Smith

December 18, 1933 - February 26, 2014