Lawrence Offenbecker

The Funeral Service for Lawrence "Larry" K. Offenbecker, of Albert Lea, will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 11, 2011 at Christ Episcopal Church in Albert Lea. The Reverend Jim Young and Reverend Jake Loper will officiate. Interment will be in Hillcrest Cemetery. Visitation will be from 5-7 on Friday at Bonnerup Funeral Service, and one hour before the service at the church. There will be a Masonic Service at 7:00 P.M. on Friday at the funeral home. Larry died on Monday, June 6, 2011 at his home. He was 98. He was born on February 5, 1913, in Austria-Hungary, the son of Lawrence and Magdalena (Kaufmann) Offenbecker. When he was 10 years old he came to the United States, living in Chicago until 1954, when he moved to Albert Lea. Larry attended Northwestern University in Chicago and graduated from the University of Illinois in Champaign. He married Gladys Marks on January 14, 1941 in Chicago. Larry was very active in the Masonic Lodge. In addition to having served as Master Mason of the Western Star Lodge #26, some of the positions he held and honors he received include: Past Master, Past High Priest, Past Illustrious Master, Past President of the Osman Shrine Club, Albert Lea Chapter, Grand Lecturer of the Grand Chapter of Minnesota, Grand Master of the Grand Council, Editor of the MN Keystone Section, Editor of the Cryptic Freemason, Awarded the General Grand Council of Cryptic Masons International Medal of Honor, Grand Lodge of MN and Western Star Lodge #26 Hiram Award, and Past Patron of the Halcyon Chapter #21 Order of the Eastern Star. He had also served as Chapter Chairman of SCORE (Service Corp of Retired Executives). He had nine assignments with the Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance (VOCA), working to achieve a world without hunger. He had traveled to Costa Rica, Bolivia, Ecuador, the Sudan, Zambia and twice to Zimbabwe and Jamaica. He was honored at the White House by President George Bush for his work with VOCA. He was honored in the 1975-76 edition of "Community Leader and Noteworthy Americans" in recognition of past achievements and outstanding service to community and state. Larry published numerous non-fiction articles and two fiction stories "Mutiny" published in Planet Stories and the "Yellow Rose of Scotland" in audio book.
He retired in 1978 from Universal Cooperatives where he was Advertising Manager and Editor of the Universal Buyer Merchandiser. He served on the AL Cuppage Foundation, Naeve Hospital Board and 15 years on the Hillcrest Cemetery Board. He was also a member of the Elks and Kiwanis. Larry and Gladys were members of the Star Duster Dance Club and were always the first ones on the dance floor, and the last to leave. He was an avid Vikings fan, and in his younger days he loved to play golf and belonged to the Albert Lea Country Club. He is survived by two daughters: Dawn(George) Comstock of Stony Brook, Long Island, NY, Linda (Ron) Bryan of Albert Lea, MN; grandchildren: Guy Comstock Lancaster, PA, Erik Comstock of Stony Brook, Long Island, New York, Alison Scott (Alisa Weiner), of San Francisco, CA, Tanya (Pete) Hosfield of Sauk Rapids, MN, Brendon (Teri) Bryan of St. Cloud, MN, Lance (Carrie) Bryan of Lakeville, MN; great grandchildren: Jordan Scott/Weiner, Eden Scott/Weiner, Cassandra Hosfield, Darin Hosfield, and Eian Bryan, also survived by special friend Luci Studer of Albert Lea. He was preceded in death by his parents, and his wife Gladys in 1980. He was affectionately known as Larry O, and will be remembered for his "So far so good!" and his love of martinis.