Dr. Larry Thacker, a Poplar Bluff native who died in July, is remembered by local friends for his notable career as a public school administrator and love of the outdoors.
Thacker, 79, died July 21, 2020, after complications from surgery at a hospital near his home in Seale, Ala.
Born on August 21, 1940, in Poplar Bluff to Tip and Muriel White Thacker, Larry was a 1958 graduate of Poplar Bluff High School. After attending the University of Missouri-Columbia, he completed a bachelor of science degree at Murray State University and a master’s degree in science at Southern Illinois University.
On completion of a doctor of education degree at Oklahoma State University, Larry began a career as a school superintendent that took him to diverse school districts in several states.
Larry spent five years as superintendent of the Todd County schools on the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation in Mission, S.D. He also was the superintendent for many years at the Russell County, Ala., schools and later worked as the chief administrator for the Talladega, Ala., schools. He ended his career in education as the chair of the Education Department at Troy University, Phenix City, Ala.
Always an outdoorsman growing up in Poplar Bluff, Larry was taught the ways of the rivers and woods by his father, a well-known outdoor sportsman.
John Stanard, a lifelong friend and outdoor companion of Larry’s, recalls their many years fishing and hunting together.
“Larry, like his father, was always ready and eager for the next outdoor adventure. We shared a canoe for hundreds of miles on most of our area streams, bass fishing and hunting ducks and squirrels.
“On one of our rabbit hunting excursions near Neelyville in the 1950s, Larry fell into the middle of a huge brush pile he had climbed to gain a vantage point when the beagle hounds brought the rabbit around. I had to climb in, secure his shotgun and ‘rescue’ him,” Stanard recalled.
“Another time, fishing on the Castor River, Larry hung a treble hook in his face and I had to remove it with the aid of my sharp pocket knife. He was tough,” Stanard remembered.
Larry fished and hunted wherever his career took him. In later years, he traveled to Manitoba many times to fish and bear hunt.
Larry also enjoyed riding motorcycles with his wife on many long distance trips. They were especially fond of visiting Taos, N.M., for extended stays in recent years.
Larry is survived by his wife of 56 years, Jacqueline Carroll Thacker of Seale, Ala.; a daughter, Kelli Kathleen Lee (Matthew), Phenix City, Ala.; two sisters, Christine Harris (Eldon) and Barbara Landreth, both of the St. Louis region; four grandchildren, Katelynn Lee, Raymond Lee, Jeffrey Lee and MacKenzie Morgan Lee; a siser-in-law and brother-in-law, Debbie and Michael Gruzeski and several nieces, nephews and close friends.
A private funeral service was held in Alabama in July. Larry’s family suggests any memorial donations may be made to the National Kidney Foundation, 30 East 33rd St., New York, NY 10016.