Larry Edward Grensing, Age 66, passed away on December 11, 2021 at his home in Boise, Idaho. He was born on May 11, 1955 in Las Vegas, Nevada. His parents were Lawrence Edward Grensing Sr and Merriem Grensing (Stein).

Named after his father, Lawrence Jr. would come to prefer the name Larry to Lawrence, and be known to friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, and even acquaintances as one of the nicest people around.

Larry was the youngest of 5 children, brother to Gary, Sharon, Sandy, and Gale. Larry was close with his sister Sandy, such that while he was young enough to need looking after, he loved to go with her and Sharon on hangouts with boys. He occasionally called her “mom,” which was a bit of an embarrassment for a young lady in those days. When he reached his last year of school, Larry wanted to return to Las Vegas to finish out the year, and he lived with Sandy during that time.

He was an eager participant in the family business running motels, from an early age, but his real passion as a teenager was scuba diving. After returning to Vegas to finish high school, it was his job to dive down to the bottom of hotel pools to change the lightbulbs. He was a certified scuba diving instructor, and looked back on that time in his life with such fondness. One of his prized possessions was a large and beautiful conch shell that he dove and found somewhere in the Caribbean as a teen. Though his diving career ended there in Vegas, Larry never lost his enthusiasm for finding treasure.

After graduating from Western High School in 1974, Larry took a job working night audit in a hotel in Las Vegas. At the time, he was the youngest person to have worked that position. Within a year of graduation, Larry married his high school sweetheart, Page. The same year they got married, Larry and Page relocated to Meridian, Idaho, where their daughter Celina was born in July of 1980. Larry was a proud father, and even stayed home to care for Celina while she was a baby. After coming to Meridian, Larry employed various jobs and took on volunteer work in the area. A few roles noted by the family included his time working with the Idaho Commission for the Blind, and the time he spent as the van driver for the Cathedral of the Rockies “Friendship Feast” program. Only occasions to some, but to his family this was the start of his philanthropy and love for his community.

Both Larry and Page were avid treasure hunters, joining metal detecting clubs and scouring the land for lost relics that still sit on display in Larry’s home office. They divorced after 13 years together, but remained friends until the end of his days.

Eventually, Larry’s keen eye for a rare find led him to the love of his life, JoAnn. They met at a church dance one autumn night, and fell in love immediately. They were married only a few months after meeting, on December 2nd, 1994. Both single parents, Larry and JoAnn blended their family as lovingly as any parents could. Larry became a dad to two more children that year: stepson Everett, and stepdaughter Neva. While his family was growing, so was his career. He began working for West Coast Paper Company in 1992, where he drove a delivery truck and maintained a perfect driving record. He stayed with the company for 24 years until retiring at an early age, due to advanced congestive heart failure.

Larry kept metal detecting and displayed his treasures proudly throughout his home. He was always finding new hobbies, including his collection of Oreo memorabilia that many of us may remember, and photography, which he became ever more passionate about as digital cameras evolved. From camping trips to sunrises he snapped next to his yellow delivery truck, he got so excited about the moments of life he was able to capture and share with the people he loved. He was proud of his hobbies, but that could never compare to the elation he felt when he became a grandpa in 2004. His granddaughter, Hailee, became his favorite subject. It would have brought him such joy to see her graduate, and that hope never left his thoughts.

After he retired in 2016, Larry and JoAnn moved to Garden Valley, where they had always talked about spending their retirement, close to their favorite camping spots and all the elk a photographer could hope for. Winter there was hard, but you could still catch Larry out shoveling his neighbors driveway, or using his tools and toys in the service of others. Their home there was alive with nature, and all manner of animals made their way across the yard. Larry never stopped capturing the animals that he encountered, and he was always able to find something to photograph: an old barn, an ice-covered tree, a hummingbird in flight.

Larry and JoAnn were beloved in their Garden Valley community, where the residents were close-knit and everyone helped each other out. In the time they lived there, they were among the original members that established and operated the Payette Forward thrift store, a non-profit effort Larry was so proud of. Their two years in Garden Valley weren’t enough, but the demands of cancer treatment led them to move back down to Meridian, closer to their children and closer to medical care. True to fashion, Larry was quick at befriending all the neighbors on their new street, sharing cookies and chats across the backyard fence, and supporting the local kids mowing lawns. Wherever he went, the community always thrived. Larry fought cancer for 6 years, and now that his battle is over, his legacy persists in the small acts of kindness between neighbors and friends, and all the people he touched.

The summary of a person’s life could never recount their greatness. If greatness were something a person could reach through a thousand little jokes, endless hugs, and a million selfless gestures, then Larry would surely be considered one of the greats. 

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