Remembering Larry

By Wyn Ponder  On Saturday morning, Washington and Lee lost a beloved member of our community. Larry Stuart, a senior sergeant public safety officer, who had worked at W&L for 29 years, passed away at Carillion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, leaving a legacy behind him. Larry could always be seen around campus with a joyous grin on his face, even when handing out parking tickets. He regularly went above and beyond to help out the W&L community and its students. There was no doubt that Larry genuinely cared about the safety and wellbeing of everyone on W&L’s campus.

After hearing that Larry had been in the hospital since the beginning of June, two alumni, Claire Stevenson and Emily Bruner, organized a fundraiser to help the Stuart family pay for the expenses that Larry left behind. The overwhelming support shown by the community easily passed the initial goal of $5,000. Over $15,000 has been raised in one day, and there have already been almost 600 donors. The goal has since been changed to $25,000, five times the original. The website for donations closes tonight at midnight.

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This tragedy serves as yet another example of how tight-knit W&L is. When an issue arises, whether joyous or tragic, the entire community immediately drops everything to help out. Sororities, fraternities and class year quickly become obsolete as the school unites for a common cause. On other college campuses, this sense of community would be unheard of, but at W&L it is not only common, but also expected. Even though this loss is devastating to his family and the school, the Stuart family should be able to rest easily knowing just how much Larry meant to everyone at W&L.