Larry Joe Dobbs

Larry Joe Dobbs, 83, Baldwin City, passed away December 10th, 2012 at Lawrence Memorial Hospital in the loving company of close family. Larry was born August 9th, 1929 in Kansas City. He was adopted by Berneice and Porter Dobbs and raised on a ranch in South East Kansas with his adopted sister Peg. Larry was the definition of a farm boy and remained one at heart even after moving into the city later in life.

During World War II, Larry enlisted in the Navy at the age of 17, were he served as a 3rd class Gunnersmate. He served from October of 1945 to November of 1947 and is one of the few Americans to have witnessed the testing of atomic bombs on Naval vessels. Two years after leaving the Navy he met Betty Warner through a mutual friend. They were married January 22nd, 1950 and after 62 years of marriage Betty and Larry were together when he passed.

Larry worked at Beechcraft (Beech Aircraft Corporation) in Wichita, KS for 45 years, where he started at $0.75/hr and worked his way up. Although he did not become a pilot he knew how to fly and would never ride in a plane without trusting the pilot entirely. He was an extremely hard worker so once he retired from Beechcraft he spent some much needed time traveling with Betty around the United States and would regularly visit (and spoil) his children and grandchildren. Eventually moving to Baldwin City to be closer to his family, he spent his later years with his wife, children and grandchildren nearby.

Larry is survived by his loving wife Betty, his daughter Debbie (Miller) Dobbs and her husband Gary, his son Larry Joe Dobbs Jr. and his wife Ruthy, and his daughter Angie (Black) Dobbs and her husband Kevin. He will also be sorely missed by his eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren (soon to be five). He was a very proud man who cared greatly for his family and will be deeply missed.

Services for Larry will be held at 2 pm. Saturday, December 15th. at Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home, 601 Indiana, Lawrence, KS 66044. Family and friends are invited to attend and celebrate the life of this amazing man.
Family requests memorials to Wichita State University Aerospace Engineering Department sent in care of the funeral home.