Larry Gordon Shockley

Larry Gordon Shockley, Col., United States Air Force (ret.), preceded in death by his loving wife Charlotte Anne Shockley (nee Collins) and survived by a son, John J. Shockley, and sisters Susan D. Hamm and Paula J. Moriarty-Shockley, passed from this earth on January 29, 2026.

The son of Bobbie Joe Shockley and Mattie Sue Shockley (nee Gordon), he was born September 16, 1947 in Fort Smith, Arkansas. His parents instilled in him a work ethic that led him to academic success at Ritenour Jr. and Sr. High Schools in St. Louis, Missouri, where he was named to the National Honor Society and was a National Merit Scholarship finalist. He continued his studies at the University of Missouri where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree and was initiated into the Phi Eta Sigma national honor fraternity before earning his Juris Doctor at the University of Missouri School of Law and being admitted to the Missouri Bar.

That same year he enlisted in the United States Air Force, and the following year after completing his Officer Basic Military Precommissioning Course was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps, USAF.

His almost twenty-six year service included assignments at Lackland Air Force Base (AFB), Texas, Kirkland AFB, Texas, Sandia Base New Mexico, Shu Lin Kou Air Station, Taiwan, Tinker AFB, Oklahoma, Cannon AFB, New Mexico, Maxwell AFB, Alabama, Bergstrom, AFB, Texas, and the USAF Legislative Liaison and Office of the Secretary of Defense, Legislative Affairs, at the Pentagon and serving in support of Operation Desert Shield/Storm.

As a fast-rising JAG officer at Tinker, with the world at his fingertips, Larry seemingly veered off script and fell in love with and married a single mother and shortly thereafter adopted her son as his own. The family and a never-ending roster of rescue cats and dogs packed the cars and relocated from Oklahoma City, OK, to Clovis, NM, Montgomery, AL, Austin, TX, before finally settling in Springfield, then Lorton, VA.

At the Pentagon, Larry’s career in uniform came to a close, save for occasions requiring military dress, as he donned suit and tie while working closely with legislators and their staffs to advocate for USAF and Department of Defense interests before Congress.

After retiring as a Colonel, USAF, Larry continued to serve in the OSD Legislative Affairs office as a Senior Executive Service appointee as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Legislative Affairs) until he retired from public service in 2001. Following, Larry was Vice President for Government Relations at the Parsons Corporation until his third and final retirement, 2014.

A friend to all, “Uncle Larry” to many, his generosity, compassion, humor, wry smile, genuine charm, and engaging and uplifting blue-eyed countenance are missed, but his spirit endures in all that knew him.

Congressional Record July 8, 1987 Vol. 133, Part 14, Extension of Remarks, Hon. Dan Daniel of Virginia, “Tribute to Col. Larry G. Shockley”

https://www.congress.gov/bound-congressional-record/1987/07/08/133/extensions-of-remarks-section/article/19058-19099?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%22shockley%22%7D&s=2&r=2

Services will be held on Friday, February 27th at Demaine Funeral Home located at 5308 Backlick Rd in Springfield, VA. The visitation will be from 11am - 12pm, and the funeral service will be from 12 - 1pm. This event will be livestreamed for those not able to make it.

Burial will be taking place at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date.