Lawrence Thomas Gentile

Lorenzo “Larry” Thomas Gentile died December 18, 2020, in his Torrance home surrounded by family. He is survived by Diane, his devoted wife of 59 years and their four children, Catherine (Dominick Patti), Debora (Steven Smith), Robert (Miriam Gentile) and Tina Gentile Milstead as well as 10 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren.  He leaves behind a legacy of love and humor with his Aunt Skip Zumbo, many cousins, nieces and nephews as well as countless students and clients that he always treated as family.

Larry was born in Canandaigua, New York on August 16, 1937 to Sam and Carmella Gentile who relocated to California in 1945.  Larry studied at Our Lady Queen of the Angels Seminary from 1951-1959. In 1959 he began his teaching career at Mt. Carmel High School in Los Angeles where “Mr. G” was beloved by his students for his entertaining teaching methods for 16 years.  In 1975 Larry joined Behavioral Health Services in Gardena as Treasurer, providing an expanding array of drug and alcohol recovery services within LA County.  In 1999 he became the Executive Director and retired in 2007 as President after 32 years of service to the BHS Tradition of Caring.

Funeral services will be Saturday, January 9, 2021, at 11am and will be livestreamed at https://player.cloud.wowza.com/hosted/4wkbbqnb/player.html so that all may attend safely. In lieu of flowers please send donations on his behalf to Mt. Carmel High School Alumni Foundation (http://mtcarmelcrusaders.org/donations.htm) or BHS (http://bhs-inc.org/donate).