Lawrence William Jones Sr. (63)
Born November 26, 1960, Passed away Wednesday, December 20th 2023 surrounded by the love of his family. Larry lived valiantly through a year long illness, defeating odds time and again and living up to his nickname of “The Larrygizer.” Not many could keep up with him, but boy did he like to make us try. To know Larry was to love him- he lived to make other people smile, and his kindness touched friends and strangers alike up to his last breath. This kindness was returned in droves by all of the people who have supported him and our family through his illness. Whether it was visits, texts, food, or cards, the love never stopped, and we appreciate every one of you for loving him the way he loved you.
Larry loved babies, vacuuming, scary movies, and to both trick and treat his family just to hear us laugh. He had the most creative mind, and could tell the best stories, mostly scary. No age was too young for him to share his love of all things horror, and his children enjoyed watching Nightmare on Elm Street with him when they were barely in elementary school. Conveniently, we lived by a park for a good while, so the Park Monster was said to have visited us every night. Fortunately, Larry concocted a “monster spray” that we faithfully and liberally sprayed our rooms with every night before being tucked in and told to sleep tight, and to not bite the bed bugs. When Larry Jr. was little, he’d moved on from the Park Monster to his even scarier cousin, the Hallway Monster, which created quite the problem when Lar Jr. became too afraid to use the bathroom of his own for fear of the monster lurking in the hall. We are glad to say, Lar Jr. has since conquered his fear of the Hallway Monster. He also loved his swimming pool, and surprised us all by maintaining the strength he needed to get in it every single day this summer. He took pleasure in the simple- he loved a good TV series, listening to music, being in the sunshine, cleaning his pool, riding his Vespa, and taking trips down the valley to enjoy nature. He took pleasure in feeding the birds in his yard, despite the gutter that his brother Sam had to replace on his house next door due to the mess that such well fed birds created, and despite how loud the birds would get in the wee hours of the morning, waking up half of 148th Street while awaiting him to feed them. (Such trickery may have been why he enjoyed feeding those birds so much). He was hilarious and he knew it- and he passed on his sense of humor to his family, who will put it to good use as we process the massive absence that his passing has created.
Larry adored his wife, Ann, whom he married in 1995 after he swooned her over with the line “meet your new boyfriend.” Together, they built a life they loved, spoiling each other rotten, and enjoying their children and grandchildren. He loved to cook, and even at his sickest, he tried to make Ann’s lunch every day. He was a huge critic of other people’s cooking, though, so a compliment from him on something you made was worth its weight in gold. (Here’s looking at you, Karen! And Bruce and Kim, too!).
Larry retired in 2014 from the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities, where he was loved and admired. He truly cared about making a difference in other people’s lives, and this desire was well served in his career. He was a caretaker through and through, from loving his own babies and grand-babies and his wife, to caring for neighbors, to helping complete strangers. At a recent doctor appointment, he told another patient awaiting their appointment “boy, you look nice today” as he walked by her chair, and we watched her face transform from worry, to surprise, and finally, to joy. That was Larry’s way- his greatest superpower of many was to create joy and laughter. After years of taking care of others, it was the greatest honor of our family’s lives to be able to take care of him the past several months.
Larry was preceded in death by his mother, Eleanor (née Cremati), whom he loved and missed dearly, his first and best friend in the world, his brother Bob, whose passing Larry never got over, and his in-laws Donna and Steve Humenuik. He recently also said goodbye to dear friends and neighbors of the Hough and Joyce families, so we can only imagine the joyful block party that they are having in Heaven now. He is survived by the love of his life, Annemarie (née Humenuik) Jones, his children Joshua (Megan née Black) Jones, Mikaela (Nikolas) Marty, Serena (Joe Scott) Jones, and Lawrence Jones Jr., and his 8 grandchildren, Juliana and Avery Jones, Isabella, Noah, and Lilia Marty, and Eliot, Louise, and Rowan Scott, all of whom he was so proud of. He is also survived by his father William (Bill) Jones, sisters Marilyn Carr, Karen (Tom) Holian, and Nancy Maxwell, and brother, partner in crime, and best friend, Sam Jones, brothers in law Doug and Mikey Humenuik, as well as many nieces and nephews. The list of friends that he loved is expansive, but know that if you are one of the many, many people hurting in his absence, he loved you with the entirety of that huge heart of his.
In a journal that he wrote recently, he left the following wish and advice to us: “My existence here is to make this place a better place after I have left. Please always try to be kind. It will ALWAYS come back to you. I call it the boomerang!” Dad, you accomplished your mission. This place is immeasurably better for having you in it. We promise to throw kindness boomerangs just the way you taught us to. Sleep tight and don’t bite the bed bugs!
Friends and family will be received Wednesday Dec 27th at Donlon Funeral Home from 3-7pm (15408 Triskett Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44111). Funeral mass will be at St. Mel Church on Triskett in Cleveland Thursday Dec. 28th at 10am.
In lieu of flowers, please write your favorite story or memory of Larry and drop it in the provided basket at the services, or mail it to the family. We would love to hear how he made your life better, too. Donations can also be made to Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry, as it was Larry’s hope to help as many people in need as he could. https://www.lutheranmetro.org
