Larry was born to Joseph Star Welsher and Louise (Anderson) Welsher in 1940 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was predeceased by both parents and older brother, Ronald.
Louise and the boys moved to Des Moines, Iowa in 1949. Larry attended public schools, graduating from East High School in 1959 with honors in mechanical and industrial arts. He had various jobs in Des Moines before becoming a City Firefighter.
He married Charlotte Klein in 1962. They had Michael, Stephanie, and Abbe before divorcing in 1971.
Larry and Michael came to Maine in the summer of that year. Larry started his own building business; remodeling and new construction. They lived for four years in the abandoned Universalist Church on Main Street in Freeport before moving to South Freeport. Stephanie came in 1975 to live with them; daughter Abbe came every summer.
Larry’s business blossomed in the coming years. He was popular because he was always on the job with hammer in hand, greeting all with his beautiful smile.
Larry loved travel, sailing, hunting, fishing, genealogy, and working. When Michael was 9 years old, they went to Europe hitchhiking all over for 3 weeks. The two of them delivered sailboats from Florida into various islands of the Bahamas for several years.
In 1980 Larry married Marsha Kroeger who came from California. She helped raise the kids and with the construction business. They bought a sailboat in 1983 which they sailed to Florida and throughout the Bahamas and back, on a year long cruise. After returning, Larry took up building more custom houses and also Post Offices. With Marsha’s architectural design services they built many lovely homes in and around the Freeport area.
Larry’s love of travel has taken him to over sixty countries, including many exotic places around the world: driving across the Sahara Desert; exploring the extreme ends of the planet, both the Arctic and Antarctica. He has explored the remote parts of the Amazon region of Peru, and has been to Egypt and China. He traveled solo or with friends “Ob” O’Brien and Tom Wright. He and Marsha have traveled extensively throughout Europe and the Caribbean. He loved his friends. He loved his family.
When Larry turned 65, he and Marsha bought a house in SW France where they spent half of each year. They loved their time in France but reluctantly sold the house in 2009. Larry continued to take on more building projects, but was slowly losing his strength due to ALS.
Larry was chairman of the South Freeport Water District and served on the Freeport Conservation Land Trust. His community was very important to him. Larry was a good neighbor.
He is survived by his wife Marsha, of 33 years; his children: Michael and his wife Lisa of South Freeport; Stephanie Noroozy and her partner Daniel Miles of Uppsala, Sweden; Abbe and her husband Scott Mitchell of Kansas City; and five granddaughters: Amanda and Alyssa Mitchell; Zoe and Layla Noroozy; and Lily Welsher.
A private burial will be in the South Freeport Cemetery. A wake will be held at Brackett Funeral Home, 29 Federal Street, Brunswick on Friday, July 26, 2013 from 4 – 7 pm. A celebration of his life will be held at the Welsher’s home, 22 Park Street, South Freeport, ME on Saturday, July 27, noon – 2 pm.
Larry was an active Atheist, so save your prayers. In lieu of flowers, please donate to MPBN in his name or yours.
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