On 1/29/2005, Larry L McGraw quietly and peacefully passed away while holding the hand of his loving daughter Carol Ann. We mourn our dear old HOS friend, the founder of our productive and generous Home Orchard Society. His love of fruit husbandry and his leadership sparked an organization that, over almost 30 years, has helped thousands of people enrich their homes and their lives.

If you wish to attend Larry's funeral, it will be held on Wednesday, February 2, 2005 at 3:30 p.m.

Mount Scott Funeral Home
4205 SE 59th Avenue
Portland, Oregon
(503) 771-1171
Map / Driving Directions

The funeral home location is at the corner of 59th and Foster Road, west of the I-205 Foster Road exit.

We would love to hear about any memories of Larry anybody has. Please post them in this topic.

Thanks to Ruralite for letting us post this article on Larry McGraw. You can read it here (PDF, 1MB)

I recently talked with Shaun S. about Larry McGraw. I was grafting at the Exchange; I think it was my 3rd year and I was feeling plenty confident. There was the usual crowd around my table when an older man made the comment, "That's the best graft there is!" (a whip & tongue) I don't know that I even looked up, but after he, and quite an entourage walked off, everyone swooped over to tell me I'd just received "the blessing" of Larry McGraw, our Founder! My "Clients" were beaming! Me too!!
Though I wandered the pavilion later that day hoping to finally speak with him, he'd gone home, leaving that as my only encounter with him. I wish I'd have been able to trek over to visit his Orchard...
As a Member for 20 years, much of what I've achieved with my own orchard may directly be credited to his efforts in founding this organization. "Nuts about Fruit," his legacy lives on in my Orchard! In fact, the sun's shinning and I'm heading out there right now - with thoughts of Mr. McGraw.

For the record, I have added a nice article on Larry to the site here:
http://www.homeorchardsociety.org/article/28/