Lawrence Samuel Genta

Born May 1, 1930, to Salvatore Giunta and Christina (Jacobs) in Cherry Hill area, New Jersey. Larry is survived by his five children, Lawrence Jr., Ronald (Veronica), Christina, Gina (Guillermo), and Joseph (Laura), 7 grandchildren and dear friend and nurse Sharon (Mike). He began studying the saxophone at an early age of 8 and as a teenager played professionally at night clubs and resorts.

During the Korean War, Larry used his talents as a member of the U.S. Army Signal Corp. band, serving by playing special military events and dance clubs. He then received a music scholarship to the University of Houston, where he was a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society.

After college he organized his own group playing mainly in the resorts of the Catskill Mountains. It was at this time that he legally changed his last name to “Genta”. He joined the Birdie Castle Entertainment Group playing from the East Coast to the Midwest and performing with famous names as Mel Tormé and Frankie Avalon.

In 1955 he married Carmie La Mena and reinvented his life by going to New York City to study ladies hair styling at Charles of the Ritz. He settled back to his roots in Cherry Hill and opened two salons containing boutiques as well. He honed his skill over the next decade becoming the Associated Stylist at the Latin Casino and became the New Jersey delegate at the National Hairdressing Convention. He was proud to be the stylist representing Revlon and L’ Oreal at major hair shows as well as becoming the personal stylist for Jane Morgan and briefly Peggy Lee.

In 1970, while visiting Florida with Carmie, they stopped for lunch in Naples. On this visit, he was offered a prime business location across from Lowdermilk Park that included incentives and a long-term lease for being one of the first tenants in Gulf Shore Square. The real estate professional suggested that Naples was “up and coming” and it would be advantageous to get in now. Well… Naples was… and Larry and Carmie did !!!

He soon moved his young family to Naples and opened Mr. Lawrence Coiffures and Boutique. A few years later, a second location named Mr. Lawrence at the Naples Beach Hotel opened, where he especially enjoyed hosting the poolside fashion shows over lunch during the season.

In 1994, 30 years ago, he chose to take an early retirement and begin checking off experiences on his bucket list. He took immense pleasure in playing gin rummy daily with his buddies, being involved in two or three evening poker games, and attending professional tournaments in Las Vegas annually. He traveled literally everywhere in the world he had an interest of going…13 trips to Europe, Hawaii, a Trans-Atlantic Cruise, the Panama Canal, Alaska, and America’s treasured national parks out West near his condo in Lake Tahoe’s Incline Village. His favorite place, however, was Naples. He loved Skillets, Pastrami Dan’s, Ridgeway’s, going to the same Publix for 54 years, the Dolphins and the office of Dr. Anthony D’Agostino.

In lieu of flowers please donate to STARability of Naples at starability.org or the charity of your choice.

He will be missed by many.