Lawrence E. "Larry" Smith

Larry Smith, passed away on Saturday, January 3, 2026, in West Lafayette, Indiana, where six decades earlier he graduated from Purdue University with a degree in Electrical Engineering. He is survived by his spouse, Susanne Teresa Gorrell Smith, with whom they just shared their 65th wedding anniversary on Christmas Eve. Sue and Larry have four adult children, Dan, Ron, Ken and Shari; 13 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

He was a man of faith, family, friends, and fishing. He worked nearly his entire career designing televisions with RCA. He was credited with several patents and saw the technology move from vacuum tubes to transistors and from analog to digital. As a younger man, he served in the Marine Corps playing the trumpet in the prestigious Marine Corps band.

Lawrence Edward Smith was born September 13, 1937, to William Michael Smith and Madelyn Lebeau Smith. As the second of three boys, he learned many lessons on the family farm in Northern Indiana. He was skillful with a rifle, baseball, and ice skates. His older brother, Robert Maxwell Smith lives in Lynchburg, Virginia, with his wife, Gay Talbot Smith, and his younger brother, William Michael Smith, passed away in 2023, survived by his wife, Mary Beerbower Smith. All three brothers graduated with Engineering degrees from Purdue and celebrated more than 60 years of marriage.

Singing the tenor part in the United Methodist church choir was his regular routine. All of his children played musical instruments including the clarinet, trombone, french horn, and flute. Family Christmas gatherings often featured the Smith family band.

Larry loved the outdoors and travelling the entire United States. Family camping trips started in a small canvas ‘pop-up’ trailer and grew to living full-time in a large RV for a decade after retirement. Sue and Larry were active volunteers with the NOMADS group of the United Methodist Church, providing expertise in building and fixing structures across the country.

On Saturday, January 17, 2026, at the Hockemeyer Funeral Home, 17629 State Road 37, Harlan, a visitation will be held from 10:00 am to 11:30 am with a Celebration of Life Service following at 11:30 am.

Memorial donations can be made to the NOMADS at methodistnomads.org or to Project for the People of Paraguay, PO Box 251, Avon, MN 56310.