Charles L. Larance, 87, died Saturday, April 25, at his home in Stone Mountain, Georgia. He leaves his wife of 63 years, Elizabeth Brown Larance; his son, Richard J. Larance, and daughter-in-law Lisa of Ann Arbor, Michigan; his daughter, Leigh Anne Kelley, and son-in-law Brian of Roanoke, Virginia; and five grandsons: Cole, Hayden and Ruel Larance, and Colin and Kevin Kelley.
He was predeceased by his sister, Karen K. Wisener (Jim), and brother, Thomas R. Larance (Leslie). He is survived by his nephew, Jeremy Larance, and niece Annslie Davis. He is also survived by his sister-in-law Alicia Grant, and nephews Rodney E. Corley Jr., and Chris and Adam Grant.
Charles Larance, known as Larry, was born Aug. 30, 1938, in Ruston, Louisiana, and grew up in Warren. He was the son of Fred Colvin Larance and Myrtle Lore (Rhodes) Larance. He graduated from Warren High School in 1956 as a member of the National Honor Society, editor of the school newspaper, quarterback of the 1955-56 undefeated Fighting Lumberjacks football team, and tenor in the “Four Jacks,” a boys’ quartet that won a statewide talent program in 1955.
He earned a bachelor’s at Louisiana Tech and a master’s in public relations from American University in Washington, D.C. He worked as a news announcer at radio and television stations in Little Rock and Shreveport, Louisiana, before serving as an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard. He served in Miami, Florida, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, acting as media spokesman for daily press briefings involving gun-runners, drug dealers, Russian trawlers, anti-Castro rebels, and thousands of refugees fleeing to the Florida Keys.
He later joined Acacia Life Insurance in Washington, D.C., where he rose to vice president of corporate communications. In 1986, he moved to St. Louis, Missouri, to lead corporate relations for General American.
In 2000, Larry and Beth retired to The Landings on Skidaway Island near Savannah, Georgia. In 2022 they moved to a retirement community in Stone Mountain, Georgia.
For a number of years, they volunteered with Faith in Practice, a medical mission in Guatemala. In retirement, they were members of Skidaway Island Methodist Church and Smoke Rise Baptist Church. Larry enjoyed fishing, playing guitar, writing and performing original songs, and writing books. Among his self-published books are three memoirs, “Miss Myrtle’s Boy,” “We Count Trees,” and “Coast Guard Days;” two books of short stories, “A Better Looking Corpse” and “Skidaway Scenes;” and a historical novel, “Choctaw Bluff.”
When asked whether he preferred burial or cremation, he would say, “Surprise me!” A celebration of life will be held beginning at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 6, at the Clubhouse at Park Springs Senior Living Community in Stone Mountain, Georgia. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Faith in Practice or the Warren and Bradley County YMCA.
