Mr. Larry Melvin Mears, 72, of Parksley, husband of Sandra Hart Mears, passed away July 30, 2024, at Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital.
Born on Sept. 13, 1951, to the late Johnny Mears and Mamie Killmon Mears, Larry loved the Eastern Shore, its people (most importantly those who were his family and friends), its history, the land, the sea, the water, and the houses. He was what an old Eastern Shoreman once called, one of the “old time” Eastern Shore people. He lived the Eastern Shore life.
Sandy was a faithful companion in much of Larry’s day-to-day life and all the fun or trouble those days brought. She said, “We were a team. He said it, and then I did the paperwork.” He would often say, “Two heads are better than one — even if they’re both cabbage heads.”
Larry had a slow pace like Everett, in that he didn’t say much and was more mindful when he did speak. BJ H. said that when you looked at him you would think he didn’t have good sense, but the more you talked to him you soon realized he had more sense than most. He never started any trouble, but he didn’t run from it either. He was practical and frugal and had a carpenter style like that of Grover Lafferty, always first using what he already had before buying what was absolutely necessary. He was a friend who stuck with his friends.
Back in the day of “making your own entertainment,” they would go fishing — saltwater or freshwater. When it snowed, Larry would get on his overalls and toboggan to go four-wheeling anytime, even if it was at midnight. They went to yard parties with Glen and Gary and Carla. He loved music, particularly local bands, and even picked the name for one of them, Greatwater. They would go to the Onancock Armory, Dick Murray’s.
Sandy and Larry would dance, and though they weren’t very good at it, they made happy memories. They would go to the radio station in Onancock and help Choppy and G.E. as the “behind the scenes” help, Sandy answering the phone for requests and Larry picking out the music. Larry and Sandy went on every garden tour there was, as well as some unexpected and unofficial ones along their way.
There was one game in their circle of friends called, “Boat, Boat, Who Has the Boat?” She doesn’t remember who started it, but a random boat would arrive in one of their yards in the dark of night. Unfortunately one time the boat that landed in Sandy and Larry’s yard was very large, too big to move without the help of a chainsaw — not knowing the boat still had one more purpose in life before its appointment with the chainsaw.
Larry was very interested in the history of the Shore, talking to people like M.K. Miles, Mary Frances Curry, and Miles Barnes, and he was mentioned in one of Curry’s writings. He also spent many times reminiscing about the old days with Aunt Ruth.
He loved the land and farming it (he liked planting the best) and had so many good times at Associated Farms with all of the local farmers. After he had worked hard all day, he could always count on Junior, Michael, and Jason to come by. It would be safe to say he enjoyed nearly anything vehicular. He could often be seen out and about in his old car and liked going out on the rollback with Bob. He worked on cars, trucks, farm equipment, and also on Harleys in Greg’s barn. He also did mechanic work at Jack Hart’s garage.
Back in the day he, with Sandy on the back, along with Greg, Michael, and Butch, would take road trips on those Harley Davidsons. Sometimes they traveled in groups of up to 20 and looked intimidating to the people in places away from the Shore. He went to many a car auction and even had a car lot at one time. He had a lifelong love for car races — everything from the ones at the Tasley track to NASCAR — and would even venture away from the Shore to the drag races in Pennsylvania.
Over the years Larry liked to get together with friends and family, going to Rita’s, the Lunch Box, and all the filling stations. He went to cookouts with his Uncle Melvin and family (so many stories there alone), and loved to get together with Kim and Squirrel. He was big on class reunions, digging out his Parksley Eagles pin and fastening it to his hat — always ready to get together and talk about old times. Sandy says they had many a good time with their neighbors in both Parksley and Bloxom and remembers the days spent under the trees in Parksley before “they paved paradise and put up a parking lot.”
He also had a lot of dog friends throughout his life. Blossom Mabel has been his latest pet and Sandy says it’s possible that Larry was actually her pet.
Very importantly, she said he always thought of his grandparents and mother and father with honor and respect and remembered the days that he went to church with his grandmother, Lottie, as a child. He thought of all their nieces and nephews and sisters-in-law with the same honor and respect. Sandy said he considered her family as part of his and his family as part of hers.
She said he told her a few years ago that if he had known he was going to live this long, that he would have taken better care of himself. He said that someone mistook the saying about the golden years, that the gold is really rust, but she said to tell you it’s been a good life and not to let your hearts be heavy and to leave you with this thought from Jimmy Buffett: “Some of it’s magic, some of it’s tragic, but I’ve had a good life along the way.”
Other than his wife, Sandra Hart Mears, Larry is survived by a daughter, Kimberly Mears Pryor and her husband, Earl “Squirrel” Pryor; aunt Ruth B. Taylor; a brother-in-law; sisters-in-law, and several nieces, nephews, and cousins.
He was preceded in death by his brother, Johnnie A. Mears; brother-in-law, Michael E. Hart; and nephew, Christopher K. Hart.
Services were private, per Larry’s request. A thank you to Sam and Jan Welch for helping to honor Larry and for reading what Sandy had written.
Larry was laid to rest at the Bloxom Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Parksley Volunteer Fire Company, P.O. Box 14, Parksley, VA 23421 or the Bloxom Volunteer Fire Company, P.O. Box 132, Bloxom, VA 23308.
Funeral arrangements were by the Thornton Funeral Home in Parksley.
