Larry Wayne Anderson

Larry Wayne Anderson, 64, of Porter, Texas passed from this life at home on Friday February 6, 2015 to be welcomed by his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He had fought a long and difficult battle with non-smoking related lung cancer. He was born August 26, 1950, in Pampa, Texas to Clarence and Faye (Carey) Anderson. He lived on the family farm near Lefors, Texas the first few months of his life. The family moved to Pampa, then to Amarillo where he began school and graduated from Tascosa High School in 1968. Accepting an athletic scholarship for track and field to Rice University, he was the Southwest Conference champion discus thrower in 1970 and a member of the 1971 Southwest Conference Champion Rice Owls track team. He graduated with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering in 1972 and a Masters in Chemical Engineering in 1973.

Larry began his business career with Ethyl Corporation, first in Houston, then in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. While there, he earned a patent for developing a chemical separation process. Claiming it as his “15 Minutes of Fame,” he was the model appearing in a magazine ad for Ethyl Corp. placed in “Chemical Week,” and various other trade magazines. In 1992, he transferred back to Houston with Albemarle. He went through several mergers/buyouts in the oil/chemical industry ultimately working for Ethyl, Albemarle, Amoco, BP-Amoco, BP, and Innovene. Over the course of his career he held positions in Research and Development, Purchasing, Marketing, and Sales. In 1995, he was recognized by Purchasing Magazine as “One of the Top Ten Industrial Salespeople in the United States.” In 2006, at the age of 55, he retired from BP.

After retirement, Larry devoted much of his time to caring for aging parents. In 2009, Larry and his wife, Nancy, moved their 3 surviving parents to Kingwood. From that moment on, he managed both personal and business affairs for them. Larry and his wife, Nancy, viewed the assisted living facilities their parents resided in as a ministry opportunity, often visiting to sing old popular songs and hymns and read devotionals to the residents.

As a devoted father, he coached his own children’s basketball, soccer, and baseball teams. He was never too busy to spend time with his kids. He was the ultimate encourager and expected them to give 100%. He was the spiritual leader in the home. He was a loving, faithful husband who provided for all of the family’s needs. He will be greatly missed by his family and friends.

A humble servant of the Lord, Larry was very involved in the church. Larry and his wife, Nancy, taught children’s Sunday School, sang in the adult choir, and performed in many musical productions. Larry was awarded the 2014 “King David” award from the church’s Creative Arts Ministry. He also served as a Deacon for Woodridge Baptist Church, Kingwood, TX. Larry and his wife taught the New Christians Kindergarten to 5th Grade Class for twenty years. As a dedicated member of the church’s evangelism outreach, Larry was active in mission trips to Panama, Turkey, Argentina, Peru, and Kenya. He was touched deeply by his trips to Kenya to minister to the Maasai people and had always hoped to return. He believed that his purpose in life was to spread the love of Jesus Christ in order to further the kingdom of God on Earth.

Larry is preceded in death by his mother, Faye, and sister, Paula Carrell. He is survived by his 100 year old father, Clarence, of Kingwood, TX; his wife, Nancy, of 43 years; his daughter, Dr. Tiffany Mullin and her husband, Cory, grandchildren, Alex, Michael, and David of Katy, Texas; his son, Brandon, and his wife, Erica, grandchildren, Kate, Joshua, and Emily of Gilbert, Arizona; his brothers Eugene and his wife, Daniela of Beverly Hills, CA, James of Wooster, OH, and Robert of Amarillo, TX.