Lawrence Emery Couey

Lawrence Emery Couey, age 84 of Sun City West, AZ passed away on October 17, 2010. He was born in Sedalia, Missouri on May 27, 1926 to Lawrence and A'Lexa Couey. After living in various locations of the Midwest during his career in sales and management with Colgate-Palmolive and Speidel, he and his wife Joanne relocated to Sun City West from Des Moines, Iowa in 1990 upon retirement.

He is survived by his loving wife of 58 years, Joanne Couey of Sun City West, and his children, Lynn Couey of Albany, New York, Lawrence (Chip) Couey, of Hot Springs, Arkansas, and Stephen Couey of Carrollton, Texas, and grandchildren, Renee and Alexa Couey of Hot Springs, Arkansas.

A memorial service will be held at 10am, Saturday, October 23, 2010 in the Chapel of the Desert Palms Presbyterian Church, 13459 W. Stardust Blvd., Sun City West, AZ 85375.

In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be sent to Desert Palms Presbyterian Church, 13459 W. Stardust Blvd., Sun City West, AZ 85375

Arrangements under the direction of Sunland Memorial Park, Mortuary & Cremation Center, Sun City, AZ. 623-933-0161

Eulogy

Lawrence Emery Couey, Jr.

May 27, 1926 - October 17, 2010

Larry lived a full life. He was born in Sedalia, Missouri on May 27, 1926 to Lawrence and A’Lexa Couey. His father was a highway planning engineer in Missouri and his family lived in several areas of the state and in Washington, DC while he was growing up. When his family moved to Jefferson City, the state capital, Larry was proud to have the privilege of delivering the daily newspaper to the governor as part of his paper route. Larry was a Boy Scout and achieved the rank of Eagle Scout as a teen. His children followed his leadership with participation in various scouting organizations. As an adult, Larry continued his commitment to community service through the Junior Chamber of Commerce and the Kiwanis Club.

After graduating from high school in Kansas City, Missouri, Larry joined the United States Air Corps. He was in training in Texas and Mississippi during World War II while waiting to attend flight school. During his time in the service, he worked as a cryptographer and photographer. His photography skills came in handy as the family photographer. He took pleasure in making numerous reels of film movies, and thousands of photos and slides of his family and their travels.

Larry returned to Kansas City at the end of World War II and enrolled at the University of Missouri in Columbia. It was in astronomy class at the university where he and Joanne met while gazing at the stars and then, into each other’s eyes. Larry was always a very social person and enjoyed his membership with the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He graduated from the university in 1950 with a degree in business administration.

Larry and Joanne were married on November 3, 1951 in Joanne’s sorority house, Delta Gamma. After their wedding, they moved to Kansas City, Missouri where Larry worked for an oil company. Little did they know that this would be the beginning of their travels together throughout the Midwest and South during Larry’s career in sales and management.

They lived in the Kansas City area for several years and it was there that they had their first child, Lynn. Larry later became employed with Colgate-Palmolive Company and was transferred to Grand Rapids where their son Lawrence (Chip) was born. As promotions came along, there were additional moves to Akron, Cleveland, Memphis, where their third child, Stephen, was born, Atlanta, and St. Louis.

In 1969, Larry took a job with Speidel and the family moved to Des Moines. The family settled into Urbandale, a suburb of Des Moines, which they called home for over 20 years. During that time, Larry enjoyed golfing and bridge with Joanne and friends at the Urbandale Country Club when he was not working, until he retired from Speidel in 1988.

Larry was a loyal and loving family man. He adored his wife and family and was thrilled when he became a grandfather. A college education was an important value to both Larry and Joanne, and one of their most precious gifts to their children was to support their pursuit of college degrees.

Larry was fun-loving and enjoyed socializing with people. He always had a smile on his face. Larry enjoyed a good meal and especially dining out. For those of you who had the pleasure of dining with Larry, you know how he would love to linger over his meal. As a sports fan, watching football was one of his favorite past times.

It was important to Larry that his family saw the world through travel. He planned many vacation trips for his family over the years, including Washington, DC, New York City, Canada, Chicago, Providence, Colorado Rocky Mountains, Florida, the Smokey Mountains, the Grand Tetons, and Yellowstone Park.

One of the more memorable stops was in Bear Country, USA, in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Larry smoked cigars back then and apparently bears are attracted to the smell of the smoke. While driving through the park, Larry unwittingly continued to smoke his cigar while a grizzly bear approached the car window. The children were amazed, and at the time he thought it was amusing and until he later discovered that the bear had not only pawed at the glass trying to get the cigar, but managed to shred his car’s vinyl-clad hard top.

Later in life, he and Joanne traveled to Europe and enjoyed numerous cruises. He was a trusting person who when his American Express checks were stolen in Venice, saw the trip to the police station as an adventure rather than a time consuming hassle.

The thoughts of playing golf year-round and leaving snow shoveling and the oppressive humidity in Iowa behind, drew Larry and Joanne to Sun City West. After several visits to the area, he and Joanne sold their home in Iowa and moved to Sun City West in 1990. Larry loved living in Arizona and his only regret was the distance between him and his children.

Larry was 84 when he passed away on October 17, 2010 after a long illness. He will be dearly missed by his surviving family members who include his loving wife of almost 59 years, Joanne, and his three children, Lynn Couey of Albany, New York, Chip Couey, of Hot Springs, Arkansas, and Steve Couey of Carrollton, Texas, and two grandchildren, Renée and Alexa Couey of Hot Springs, Arkansas.