Larry Evans Dickson, 78, quietly slipped into Heaven on Friday, January 1, 2021, at the Swanton HealthCare and Retirement Center in Swanton, Ohio. Larry was the firstborn child of Robert and Geraldine Dickson.
He was born on January 18, 1942, about 2½ years into World War II in the home of the attending nurse in Maumee, OH. Larry’s father was always tinkering on some small engine or other mechanical thing that needed to be repaired, and Larry was always around that which created in him a tremendous interest in how things worked.
He had a brilliant mind and was sent to Toccoa Falls high school in Georgia where he graduated in 1960 as salutatorian. Larry attended LeTourneau College in Longview, Texas majoring in Aeronautical Technology. This solidified his love for the state of Texas as well as the Dallas Cowboys!
His first job after college was with Boeing-Vertol at the airport in Philadelphia, PA. While there he began attending the 69th Street Alliance church and met his wife Norma Gallagher. They were married on July 6, 1968. This new couple eventually moved to Toledo, Ohio after Boeing-Vertol lost their government contract making Huey helicopters for the Vietnam war.
Larry then began his employment at Champion Spark Plug in the Automotive Technical Services department. His work at Champion included moving Spark Plug cataloging from a manual format to electronic which became the beginning of auto companies moving to that format.
Champion Spark Plug received a Catalog Award for this innovation. He also salvaged an old computer from another department to bring his department into the computer age.
In 1973 the family moved to an old farmhouse in Delta, OH to raise two daughters, Brenda and Rachel along with chickens, goats, pigs, ducks and dogs. Larry was PASSIONATE about several things: tinkering on small engines and other mechanical things, working on anything computer related, driving bus for Swanton Alliance Church’s bus ministry, talking on the phone, finding treasures at Big Lots, peanut butter and tomato sandwiches, butter brickle ice cream, and watching his girls grow and learn!!
He was ALWAYS working on something and was way ahead of his time in understanding the potential for computers and the internet. He loved radio and his girls can vividly remember every morning waking up to the sound of the radio giving the news. He enjoyed chatting on his CB radio bolted underneath the kitchen cabinet.
He was quite innovative when he saw a need in the old country house and created a mill for grinding the wheat he bought from a local farmer, figured out how to get the well water into the house, chased bats out of the house that had gotten in through the chimney, and dragged his daughters out in the forest to help chop down wood needed for the wood burning stove in the winter.
He refused to EVER take any of the family vehicles to a mechanic for ANYTHING. He crawled up under every one and did everything while making his daughters hold the flashlights for him to see. It was a known fact that he could not see above his eyebrows evidenced by the multiple scars on his wide forehead from cracking his head on open cabinet doors and license plates as he was pulling up from under a car!
In 2008, Larry was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease and then had a stroke which robbed him of much of his vision. He kept up his tinkering and phone calls as much as he could until that disease ground his life to a halt.
Larry rested his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior from his sin, and was sure of his place in eternity with the Lord. He was looking forward to being fully restored in his eternal home of Heaven.
Larry is survived by Norma, his wife of 52 years; daughters Brenda (Tommy) Brough of Duncanville, Texas, and Rachel Dickson of Delta, OH; 6 grandchildren, Alexis, Ashlyn, Grant, Abigail, Garrett and Aryn Brough; a great-grandson, Joaquin Villa; his sister Susan (Gene) Patee of Wauseon, OH, and his brother Terry (Lois) Dickson of Indianapolis, IN; plus several cousins, nieces and nephews.
A celebration of Larry’s life will take place at Shiloh Christian Union Church in Delta, Ohio on Saturday, January 9, 2021. Visitation will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., with funeral services beginning at 11:00 a.m., with Pastor Chuck Whitmire officiating. Interment to follow at Shiloh Cemetery. Facial Masks are required for event.
Memorial contributions can be made to the missions fund of the Shiloh Christian Union Church, 2100 County Road 5, Delta, Ohio 43515.
Arrangements by Weigel Funeral Home (419.826.2631). Online expressions of sympathy may be made at www.weigelfuneralhomes.com
