Larry Patrick Stephens

Larry Patrick Stephens, age 84, of Columbus, Ohio, passed peacefully on Tuesday, August 20, 2024 at Country View of Sunbury in Sunbury, Ohio. Larry was born March 17, 1940 in Yoakum, Texas to Agnes N. Graham and William C. Stephens. As a child, he moved to Coshocton, Ohio. During his youth, he loved bike-riding, winning yo-yo contests, playing marbles, and making friendships that would last a lifetime. At Coshocton High School, he lettered 4 years in football and baseball and 3 years in basketball. Other football honors he received were being named to the All-Central Ohio league team his junior and senior years and being chosen on the first team of the Associated Press All-Ohio in 1958. One evening after arriving home from practice, he found his mother in the living room with OSU football coach Woody Hayes. Larry received a four-year athletic scholarship to play football at OSU. Even though he had received an offer from a professional baseball team around the same time, his mother would not let him pass up the opportunity to earn a college education and play football with Woody Hayes and the Buckeyes. At OSU, he lettered three of the four years (freshman were not allowed to play varsity at the time) and ended his college career on the 1961 National Championship team playing middle guard on defense. Woody Hayes nicknamed Larry “Spunky” because it embodied the kind of energy that he brought onto the field. The nickname stuck—Larry took that Spunk into everything he did. After college, Larry enlisted in the army in 1963 and was discharged in 1966 as a first lieutenant in the 101st Airborne Division. He trained at Fort Campbell earning the Parachutist Badge and the National Defense Service Medal. He also played football at Fort Campbell as a member of the army football team. With the degree in business he earned at OSU, Larry was involved in various business ventures throughout his life. His business acumen led to many entrepreneurial projects, as well as a brief career as a stockbroker. In 1969, he married Claudia P. Morettini at St. Joseph Cathedral in Columbus. They had two children, Lawrence Andrew Stephens and Gabrielle Marie Stephens and lived in Worthington, Ohio for many years. Forever the athlete, Larry enjoyed an active lifestyle and excelled at things he had never tried before (annoying his family members and delighting his teammates). He had regular golf outings with friends into his seventies, he played tennis when he was young, took up biking the trails around Columbus, and enjoyed hiking with his children. In later years, he could be found walking around Antrim Lake and then around his assisted living facility, pushing himself to keep active. Larry is the type of person who after a quadruple bypass surgery in 2007, was walked around to other patients’ rooms by his doctors to encourage recovery and patient morale. He had “down” days, but he didn’t let those moments consume or define him, and when the Buckeyes lost a game, he would famously say, “I’m going to bed” and would wake up the next day full of positivity. Larry made an impression on people he only met once and never met a stranger. He truly made friends everywhere he went and fun and laughter soon followed. While he enjoyed pushing himself to the limits physically in his earlier years, later in life Larry immensely valued quality time with family and was a loving and supportive father and grandfather. He never wanted to miss a family gathering or an opportunity to see his grandchildren. While his memory of individual life events blurred and changed with Alzheimer’s, his orientation to his loved ones always remained strong, and his charisma, humor, and positivity remained intact. Larry is survived by his children, Lawrence Andrew Stephens, Gabrielle (Blake) Stephens and his grandchildren, Marco Prieto and Ryan Cooper. Please join the family for a memorial service to honor Larry’s life on September 28, 2024 at 10 a.m. at Immaculate Conception Church. Mass at 10:00 a.m.; military salute and luncheon directly following at the church. Flowers can be sent to Immaculate Conception Church by 9 a.m. on Saturday, September 28th or in lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Larry’s name to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Larry Patrick Stephens

March 17, 1940 - August 20, 2024