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Larry Leroy Schoonmaker
Born: 1/25/1944
Died: 3/17/2025
Age: 81
Community: Grand Blanc, MI
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SCHOONMAKER LARRY LEROY – Of Grand Blanc, age 81, died Monday, March 17, 2025, with his loving wife present.
A Memorial Service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 29, 2025 at the Swartz Funeral Home, 1225 West Hill Road, Flint, Dr. Max B. Hayden officiating.
Visitation 1 p.m. Saturday until the time of the service at the funeral home.
Cremation has taken place.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Food Bank of Eastern Michigan, 2300 Lapeer Rd., Flint, MI 48503 or Humane Society of Genesee County, G-3325 S. Dort Hwy., Burton, MI 48529.
He was loved. He will be loved forever.
Larry was born in Wyoming, Michigan on January 25, 1944, the son of the late Clifton John and Tiajuanna (Chivis) Schoonmaker. On May 25, 1968 he married Susan Steffek at St. Thomas in Ann Arbor.
His family included his older brother, Cliff Schoonmaker (Barb) and his sister, Patricia Schoonmaker Rawlings (Forrest). Included were nieces and nephews, Cheryl, Vickie, Scott, Kerrie, Denise, Darcy, Debbie, Dawn, Diane and Derick. His sisters-in-law are Mary Steffek Blaske (Tom) and Catherine Arcure. He graduated from Wyoming Park High School and Western Michigan University with his business degree. Throughout his schooling he was an amazing athlete excelling in baseball, wrestling and football (his favorite) and named All State. Larry was a very proud member of PKA Fraternity at WMU. It was here he made and enjoyed so many lifelong friendships through brotherhood. Larry never met a stranger. He understood that success in sales was about people and about solutions allowing customers to work better and smarter. Throughout his work career he carried those beliefs as he worked at several companies including Singer, Boron Oil, Rotor Tool and Cooper Industries as District and Regional Managers. Our wedding took place on May 25, 1968 in Ann Arbor, Michigan at St Thomas Catholic Church. The following year we welcomed our gift, Andrea. After she grew up, she married Tom Gatza and they had our four bright, talented and creative grandchildren, Levi, Eli, Ava, and Holly. We never saw Larry happier and more at peace with life’s blessings than when he first held our Andrea and then later each of our four amazing, heart filling grandchildren. His love was always steady and sincere. It was always present for all of us. The job Larry enjoyed the most was always head of the celebration table (dining room table). Being such a welcoming host and making you feel loved and truly an important part of everything we did as a family was just part of his being. His gentle kind smile let you know he saw you, loved you and enjoyed your presence, all without words needed to be said. Larry’s eyes and smile were Larry’s announcement of his love of family and friends...nobody could match it. He always made our family gatherings fun and our appreciation of each other deeper.
Larry had several other passions, one being golf. It was a game that brought him happiness not just with the sport but even just being outside with nature on the course. He was able one season to get 200 rounds in! He was proud that on two occasions he shot a hole in one!! After retirement he became a ranger at The Jewel, a course nearby. Another passion for Larry was being the master of the grill. He made even the simplest dogs to burgers, steaks, and kebobs taste wonderful. The key rule to his grilling perfection was to use only charcoal. Larry was also a master pancake maker, much to the delight of the grandchildren, who loved to stay overnight and wake up to a stack of Grandpa’s best. Known in many places in Michigan, was Larry’s special way of smoking salmon. Many times, the salmon he smoked was caught by Larry himself. A family tradition at Christmas and birthdays was the show stopping presentation of his smoked salmon on a bed of fresh Romaine. The grandchildren, when asked on each of their birthdays what they wanted for a present, every time the first thing asked for was Grandpa’s smoked salmon. A restaurant in the Detroit area even had his smoked salmon on their menu for a time. He fished the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, the Atlantic, the Great Lakes and many inland lakes here in Michigan. He was skilled at fileting fish so that there were absolutely no bones to be found when eating. Music was another area of inner peace for Larry. Enjoyment was found in most types of music from country, rock and roll, jazz, classical and pop. He was an accomplished classical, electric and 12 string guitar player. With his playing he enjoyed singing with his warm voice that always drew you into the music and the lyrics. His most requested and the song he loved was “Scotch & Soda”.
Larry was and will always be remembered as a very special person. Our family is all the better for his being among us. We were blessed to have him in our lives and he will continue to live in our hearts as a beacon of love and caring.
Surviving are wife, Susan;
daughter, Andrea (Tom) Gatza;
grandchildren, Levi Gatza, Eli Gatza, Ava Gatza and Holly Gatza;
sisters-in-law, Mary Steffek (Tom) Blaske and Catherine Arcure.
He was preceded in death by his brother, Clifton, Jr. and sister, Patricia Schoonmaker Rawlings.
Your condolences may be shared with the family at swartzfuneralhomeinc.com
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| Visitation |
| Date: |
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3/29/2025 |
| Time: |
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1:00 PM |
| Visitation 1 p.m A Memorial Service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 29, 2025 at the Swartz Funeral Home, 1225 West Hill Road, Flint. |
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| Funeral Service |
| Date: |
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3/29/2025 |
| Time: |
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2:00 PM |
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| Location: |
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Swartz Funeral Home & Cremation Center
1225 West Hill Road
Flint, MI 48507Get a Map to this location...
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