Birth date: Apr 26, 1962 Death date: Jul 28, 2021
Larry Dale Tolbert (born Larry Dale Keller, II), 59, of Gainesville, Florida passed away on Wednesday, July 28, 2021, at his home after his long battle with esophageal cancer. He was born on April 26, 1962, in Indianapolis, India Read Obituary
Service Video
Accepted. That was the way I felt the moment Logan introduced me to Larry for the first time. He wrapped me in a big bear hug and jumped in to a conversation about cows, research, and working with students. From that moment on, Larry was my talking buddy. Every time we were in Florida, we'd hang out while the boys played spike ball, or video games, or ran around in the Florida heat for Lord knows what reason. We'd sit inside and dissect wilderness shows, look through family photos (naked babies and all), talk about the latest things we were both working on, and laugh at the fact that a dairy specialist and fishery manager had so many of the same things to work on. From the moment I met him, I felt like one of his own. It was my honor to be your daughter Larry, I love you.
When I think of my Dad, I think of his smile and infectious laugh. But beyond that, I think of how he was “always there”. He was the most consistent and dependable person I knew. It didn’t matter if it was picking me up from football practice or driving all the way to Indiana to help me renovate my first house. One memory that sticks out is a winter night in 2017. I was driving to the Indianapolis airport to pick up my then fiancé (Liz). Traffic was terrible so I decided to take some back roads for a short cut. A few miles in I started to slip and slide and noticed black ice. I crested a hill at a turtle’s pace and spotted multiple vehicles at the bottom crashed into each other. I slid about halfway down the hill sideways with almost no control but somehow managed to gain control and make my way to a “safe” area. I didn’t think about calling anyone but Dad and he picked up the phone at midnight. He was asleep but was happy to calm me down and keep me company for most of the early morning in my moment of crisis. He was “always there”.
“If you’re going to be dumb, you better be tough”
This was one of Dad’s favorite phrases, especially after one of us got a cut or worse from doing something in an unsafe way. He also used it to describe mental toughness. Just a few weeks after I got my driver’s license, I was pulled over for doing 81 MPH in a 60 MPH speed limit. After the officer handed me my $200 ticket I called my Dad to give him the news. I tend to overreact to situations, and this time was no different. I truly believed my life was going to be significantly affected by this single event. After talking to me for a while and calming me down he made sure I remember that “If you’re going to be dumb, you better be tough”.
One of my favorite things about Dad was his “I can do that” mentality. Whether it was a silly bet to chug a gallon of milk in an hour or building something with simple tools, he was always trying to do something. Back in the 2000s, we got into archery and traditional shooting events. Within 6-12 months he was finishing hand crafted longbows that could compete with bows made by folks with decades of experience. When Lane and I were young we loved watching Monster Jam on TV and dreamed of being Dennis Anderson or Tom Meents. Within a year or so he made us a mini Grave Digger themed go-Kart out of old lawnmowers that could pulls wheelies and go over obstacles just like the big boys. He also built us the obstacle course and track to try out our new mini-Monsters. It didn’t matter how big or outside his current skillset the task was, he always knew he could do it, and most of the time he succeeded. Even if he didn’t, we had fun learning and came out the other side with more knowledge and skills. Looking back, this mentality has shaped my life for the best and it’s one I have adopted, much to my wife’s frustration with house projects. No hun, we’re never going to pay someone to do it, I can fix it.
