Lawrence Voorhees

It is with great sadness that we said farewell to Lawrence “Larry” Voorhees suddenly on April 6, 2021, at Hospice House. He was a WWII Veteran and one of the remaining few of the Greatest Generation.

Lawrence was born on September 8, 1926, in Easton, Pennsylvania. In September 1943 he joined the U.S. Navy. He served active duty aboard the  USS Lassen (AE-3), an ammunition ship, in the Pacific. He re-enlisted after 4 years and spent a total of 6 years in the military.

After the war, he married and had two daughters Diane and Anita with his first wife. While living in California he attended Northrop Aeronautical Institute and was licensed by the Federal Government to work on aircraft engines.  He went to work at Lockheed Aircraft in 1951 for 10 years.  Next, he started and operated Northwest Power & Equipment, installing industrial generators, and sold the business in 1972. While raising his daughters in California, there were numerous fishing and camping trips, and a lot of travel.

Larry met his second and current wife Janet in 1971 and they were married at the Church of the Nazarene in Mt. View, California on May 6, 1972.  He became a stepfather to her 3 children and would raise a second family. They enjoyed an 8 week honeymoon road trip in his 1969 GMC truck and camper from California to New Jersey, through the New England States, back across Canada, and finally into Cd’A, Janet’s hometown. He fell in love with the area and they moved to Cd’A in 1973.

In May of 1973, he purchased Inland Heating & Cooling, Inc. He owned and operated the business for 19 years. He and his wife were members of the North Idaho Building Contractors and the Sunset Commercial Club. They attended the Church of the Nazarene for over 35 years where he accepted his Savior, Jesus Christ.

In 1978 Larry, Janet and family moved into their home on Government Way. In the early 80’s he surprised his stepchildren with a boat on Christmas morning. They enjoyed summer outings on Priest River, Hayden and Coeur d’Alene Lake. His love for camping and fishing continued for many years and some of the epic adventures were the Calgary Stampede in 1975, Yellowstone National Park, and Payette Lake in McCall, Idaho.

Larry retired in 1991. He joined the AE Sailors Association and he and Janet traveled to several annual reunions. Some notable destinations were New Orleans, Washington D.C., and Baltimore, (visited Annapolis Naval Academy where he went through boot camp).

Larry could repair, replace, and fix most anything, and his family called him “Mr. Fix-it”. Some of his favorite pastimes were playing pinochle, cribbage, coin collecting, huckleberry picking, Seahawks and Packers games, and occasional trips to the casino.

He truly lived a full and wonderful life! May he rest in peace.

Larry is survived by his wife, daughters Diane and husband Grant Loeffler, Anita and husband Bruce Jackson, stepson Jeff and wife Brenda Smith, stepdaughters Jena and Salomon Lopez, Julie and husband Darrin Murphey, mother-in-law Hattie Gottschalk, brothers-in-law Dan Miller, Steve and wife Bonnie Miller, and sister-in-law Rosemary and husband Jim Ferrie, 11 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren, and 2 great-great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews.

Special thanks to the V.A. of Spokane and Cd’A for the special care he was given and to Hospice House and English Funeral Home.

A graveside memorial at Forest Cemetery will take place at 2:00p.m on Friday, June 18th with a Celebration of Life later that day from 5:00-8:00p.m. at the Lake City Senior Center.