Larry F. Stabnau, 81, of Carlisle, passed away suddenly after a brief illness. His children and their spouses surrounded him with love in the early hours of January 18th when he took his last breath.

Anyone who ever met Larry would probably never forget him; he was big and loud, and funny and kind, and thought that everybody wanted to hear his almost always off-color jokes. We should all take lessons from how Larry stayed in touch with friends and family and how he would pop in for impromptu visits or make the trek to Florida, visiting a long list of old friends and acquaintances along the way. Stranded motorists often had this big, jovial bear of a man stop to help them.

The oldest of six kids, Larry was born on November 9th, 1936 in Harrisburg and grew up on a farm in Clearville where he developed incredible mechanical and analytical skills, as well as an innate ability to figure out and fix absolutely anything. He served in the Army, stationed in Germany, and then worked as a professional truck driver for most of his life, living in Everett and then Carlisle. Everyone was always amazed at what Larry knew and how much he could remember. Watching him explain the mechanics of combustion engines, using graphic hand gestures to illustrate pounding pistons was something you would never forget. Larry had a love of history, steam engines and guns – but only for target practice; he was too much of a softy to hunt much. He gave great back rubs and hugs, made a mean fried salami and egg sandwich, and it didn’t take much to make him weepy. That was a big part of his charm.

He’ll be missed by his children, Susan Stabnau (Roger Powell) and William Stabnau (Amy Hartle) both of Pittsburgh and his granddaughter Zeilend Powell (Claire Chadwick) of Brooklyn. He leaves behind his long-time companion, Sharon Dively of Carlisle. His adored sister, Lynda Boyer of Osterburg, and brothers Gary and Kent Stabnau, both in Arizona, survive him. His parents Frederick and Mildred, sister Glenda Sands, brother Mark, sister-in-law Jenette, and brother-in-law Stanford Boyer all passed before him. Larry also leaves a trail of dear friends and extended family who will miss him terribly.

Friends will be received on Sunday, January 21, 2018 from 2-4 and 6-8, at the Timothy A. Berkebile Funeral Home, in Bedford. There will be a celebration of Larry’s life in the spring. Burial will be private. Visit www.Stabnau.com to leave a memory or photograph, and for information about the celebration. Our online guestbook is available at www.berkebilefuneralhome.com

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