Lawrence Anthony Runnels November 14, 1943 – September 11, 2013
Lawrence Anthony Runnels, born November 14, 1943, in St. Louis, Missouri, passed away September 10, 2013, in Huntsville, Alabama. A beloved husband, father and grandfather, he is survived by his wife of 45 years, Marilee, children Lara Olsen (Jack), Erik, Patrick (Amy Scott Runnels), Kristin Goerg (Markus), Brian (deceased) and Sean and grandchildren Max, Jillian, Ian and Molly.
Lawrence, known as Larry, went to high school at St. Louis University High, college at St. Louis University (BA in English), law school at New York University, and got a masters in tax law at Washington University. He worked as a contracting attorney for 40 years until he retired in January of 2013.
He met Marilee at the college library in the summer of 1967, and they married on January 20th, 1968. They were an inseparable team who enjoyed reading, hiking, traveling, watching British mystery series and being with their family.
A self-taught handyman and mechanic, there is nothing that Larry couldn’t build, fix or decorate. He was a Renaissance man with a wide range of knowledge about subjects from Latin to philosophy to physics, and he passed down his love of learning to his children. At the time of his death, he was teaching himself German so he could go to Germany and visit his son-in-law’s family. Larry was selfless and enjoyed nothing more than taking care of other people, especially his family. He coached various teams for all his children and was looking forward to teaching his grandchildren how to play catch.
There will be a private service to honor his memory. Larry was cherished by his entire family and close friends and will be sadly missed.
