Lawrence Daniel Daw

Lawrence, known as Larry, was born on April 7, 1939 in Hamilton, Montana. Born to a first generation Irish American woman, his childhood began with him being raised by his single mother, Josephine Harrington. His grandparents, who came to America from Ireland, helped her raise Larry. It was these beginnings that instilled in him a love of family, a sense of loyalty to your family circle, and a deep love for his Irish heritage. When he was 3 years old, his mother married Murray Dell Daw, known as Dell. Dell adopted Larry and quickly became the father he never had. Larry’s brother Alan was born in 1945 and they grew up with their parents on a small farm in Hamilton. Life as a farm kid in Montana was often harsh. Larry would tell of having to milk cows during snowstorms, butchering chickens and rabbits, and baling hay in the summers. When he attended Hamilton High School, he fell in love with the theatre and began acting. He knew he wanted to pursue a career in this field so he moved to Bozeman, Montana and studied Theatre and English at Montana State University. Once graduated, he took his first teaching job at Milton Freewater High School. There he met and fell in love with another English teacher, Daisy Good. He called her Lennie as a pet name from her middle name of Lenore. They were married on August 17, 1963. Their first son Shawn arrived on June 8, 1964, followed by their second son Kevin on May 19, 1966. Larry always had a love of travel and adventure so in 1967, he moved his family to Guam, where he taught English in the schools. They returned to the U.S. in 1968 and Larry took a teaching job at Tigard High School as a Theatre and English teacher. Soon he built up the drama program so much he only taught drama courses. For 30 years, he taught theatre classes and directed countless plays. He touched the lives of many high school students, who were looking for a group to belong to. He welcomed everyone in. On October 18, 1973, Larry and Lennie had their daughter Meghan. With three kids, they still managed to feed their love of travel. Larry planned yearly road trips each summer and he and his family saw many states, national parks, and parts of Canada. When Larry retired in 1998, he and Lennie were able to travel the world, taking trips to places like New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Costa Rica, Guadamala, France, Italy, Austria, and many many more countries. In retirement, Larry loved being surrounded by his family. He loved seeing not only his three children, but his grandchildren as well: Sarah, Amanda, Tiffany, Maddy, Greg, Murray, Monty, Shannon, and Erica. He later had many great grandchildren whom he loved as well. Larry succumbed to his battle with esophageal cancer after fighting very hard for over two years. He was preceded in death by his wife Lennie, who passed away in 2019. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Alzheimer's Association or American Cancer Society–two organizations dear to Larry's heart.

Lawrence Daniel Daw

April 7, 1939 - September 29, 2024