Larry Pate Willoughby

After a long and well-lived life, Larry Pate Willoughby passed away Friday, January 29, 2021. Larry was born on January 21, 1935, in Milledgeville, Georgia, to Pate and Shellie Pittman Willoughby. He is preceded by his parents, his beloved wife of 62 years, Mary Ann, and his son-in-law Bill Weed.

He is survived by his daughter, Kathryn Willoughby Weed, his son, David Pate Willoughby, his wife Rebecca, and their daughters, Lauren and Sarah. Also surviving are his sister-in-law Rebecca Thomas, and his wife’s nephews and niece: Paul Perkins, Graham Thomas, Karen Perkins Lattuada, and their families.

The family is having a private graveside service Saturday, February 6 at 2PM. The recorded service can be viewed later on Larry’s obituary page at www.haneslineberryfhnorthelm.com.

Larry grew up playing on the banks of the Oconee River and roaming the woods near his house, which gave him a deep love for anything outdoors, a love he passed on to his children and grandchildren. A child of WWII, he had vibrant memories of both the beginning of the war and the end, seeing planes circling the sky in celebration of the allied victory. As a young man, he attended the high school division of Georgia Military College, where his mother personally altered his uniform trousers to fit his lanky 6’4 frame. He met the love of his life working in a Rose’s Department Store where Mary Ann Worsham quite literally fell into his arms. He regularly walked two miles to her house where they sat on “their swing” on her front porch. He briefly attended Georgia Tech before they married in 1954 and Larry enlisted in the army. Stationed in Japan, the former enemy during WWII, he fell in love with the country and its people, learning early on to treat others with kindness and appreciate other people and cultures.

After returning to civilian life, Larry worked as a career correctional officer, retiring from the Federal Bureau of Prisons. A gentle giant, he treated prisoners with dignity and respect, and even once had a discharged prisoner go out of his way to thank him for “treating me like a human being.” In his adult years he was a true Renaissance man: a fantastic painter, HAM radio aficionado, avid reader of history, and electronics wizard. Larry was an active Boy Scout leader, a proud Mason – receiving “Mason of the Year” honors for the P.P. Turner Lodge #476 in 2013 – and a long-time member of Mount Pisgah United Methodist Church.

Larry was a doting husband of 62 years, and a loving father, father-in-law, and grandfather. Nothing was more important to him than family. He consistently led by example for his children, Kathy and David. Some of his favorite recent memories were long car rides over winding country roads with his children. He adored Becca, his daughter-in-law, and welcomed Bill, his son-in-law, with open arms. He was overjoyed when his granddaughters were born and became the new focus for all his loving attention. Whenever either was sick, he would gladly come over and sit through American Girl movies and play sudoku with his dear granddaughters. Whenever “his girls” needed anything, he would jump in and help. An incredibly perceptive man, he was never afraid to tell you he loved you or that he was proud of you. He was an excellent example of a caring and respectful husband, a proud father, and an adoring grandfather. Larry was the embodiment of the words found in 1 John 3:18: “…let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” Before he passed, he expressed a desire to sit on the porch in the sun, and there is no doubt that he and his beloved Mary Ann are together now, on the porch swing where they courted, looking up at the Georgia sun.

The family would like to thank the staff at Brookdale Lawndale Park Assisted Living for their kindness and care. Memorial contributions may be made to Mount Pisgah United Methodist Church,

designated for the VBS Program.

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Please click on the following link to view the service on Saturday, February 6. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FpWYU0mI729u5O3t9HHuY2_zB47D5Env/view?usp=sharing