Lawrence Kenkel was born on Oct. 21, 1909 in Cincinnati Ohio. He went to Elder for 2 years, and then was forced to quit to work at a bakery and support the family. (??? Rumor has it that he played minor league ball for a team up in Indy.) Since his father died when he was young, Larry became the "little man" of the family. His mom and both his sisters adored him, and he could do no wrong. His was both the life of the party - yet very responsible and self-sufficient.
He met his future wife Mildred H. Schmidt as a blind date to a friend's wedding. They got along famously - they both LOVED to dance!! On their first date he took Millie to Coney Island so see a fantastic trumpt player - an event well remembered by his wife fully 50 some years later!
They were married on October 7, 1939 in St. Bonifice.
In 1936 Larry started working for the post office and by 1939 he was the Assistant Supervisor at the Post office ant State Ave. and Guess. Larry was a builder until the depression. He was left-handed. He helped built his sisters houses in Ft. Michell KY, and all the closets, cabinets, and the upstairs of his house on 5050 Western Hills Ave as well as everything in the kitchen. Larry and Millie moved to 5050 Western Hill on Aug. 1, 1940.
Larry was drafted for World War II. However, since his wife was pregnant at the time, he was given a 6 mos. extension to stay home. At this time he was working for the post office, and during his 6 mos. extension all postal employees were declared exempt from the draft.
Larry and Millie had 3 children: JoAnn, James and Jerry.
The family was quite poor, however Larry was active with his children, besides having to work very hard for his money. He would play ball with his kids for hours and tossed baseballs out in the yard - the kids in the neighbor hood just loved him. He also loved his garden and especially his workbench.
Unfortunately, Larry had a cholesterol problem. His son Jim remembers how they used to go from shoe store to shoe store trying to find a good fitting shoe because Larry's feet always hurt. In 1967 or 1968 doctors realized that Larry had gangrene in his toes. He first had his toes amputated, then later one leg below the knee when he was around 58, and eventually both legs above the knee. He attempted to go back to work after his leg was cut off, however he was unable to handle the new stress and retired on disability.
Larry was a remarkable person - and continued to be active. He managed to paint the house after his one leg was cut off and installed window ropes in people's houses. After he died people would still call the house requesting his services. After both legs were cut off he would scoot down the front porch stairs carrying his wheelchair - and then go down the road to talk to the neighbors. Whenever anyone needed something they would come to Larry.
He was able to garden and loved his tomato patch.
When he had grandchildren he would play games with him using his leg - they would knock on his wooden leg trying to wake up the squirrels or to hear the bird whistle.
Larry always had a twinkle in his eye and a kind word for everyone. Even after cholesterol ravaged his body and he was partially blind and deaf, he still had a positive outlook on life. Larry complained of chest pains, and since it didn't seem serious, his family made a doctor's appointment for him later that week. He was getting ready for his doctors appointment, sitting on his bed so his wife could help him put on his artificial legs when he suddenly fell over. The life squad was called, and he was taken to St. George's, and pronounced dead on arrival.
Lawrence died on August 26, 1983. Mass was held at St. Teresa Church at 10:30 am, on Tues. Aug. 30 and he was buried in (New)St. Joseph Cemetery on the same day.