Lawrence McCool

Known in  both our Teton Counties,  as -"Larry", Lawrence R. McCool died Saturday, June 29 in his own bed in his Victor home --in the peace of  an early summer morning at 3:30 a.m..with his wife Pam, daughter Gwynn, and grand daughter ,Catie beside him.

For 50 years  ,the senior McCools lived on Fish Creek Road in Wilson-leaving to live in Victor in a handicapped accessible house only  after Larry suffered a serious stroke in 2008. His Jackson Wyoming life included his Episcopal ministry, white water guiding in Wyoming and Nepal, the craft of a professional potter, and his favorite work, bus driving and caring for the Wilson School children : driving the Fall Creek road in all weather with the  kids-With his wife , he ran two local art galleries in the 1980's and 1990's down town and participated in endless art fairs over the years.

He was born in 1935 in  the deep South- in Jackson, Mississippi to be exact--but the family of Dick C. McCool , his father, lived in Memphis where his father was among the first medical doctors to hold a senior psychiatric residency at Baptist Memorial Hospital. Larry  attended Memphis schools, the University of Mississippi- "Ole Miss" and Seminary of the Southwest: served as a marine lieutenant , and worked for Walt Disney first nature films , Buena Vista Films, in his 20's. He participated in the very first civil rights work in rural Mississippi during the early church burnings in the 1960's.

His 2008 stroke was large, causing left side paralysis and daily life since has been hard  for him but living with wide fields and views of all the mountains from his Teton Valley home was good.He especially loved watching the Big Holes from his bed. Larry had five children, Matthew, Adam, Lex, Christopher and Gwynn; eight grandchildren, A.J, Mylie, Summer, Kyle,Gidget, Drake, Catie and Michael. His newest pride was his being a great grand father-- to Jordan, Carson, and Kolton  Courier , the three [ all under 7 and wonderfully wild] youngest members of his family.