MCGARRY, LAWRENCE J. “LARRY” (February 25, 1944-October 2, 2022) was a businessman in the painting industry who was involved in his heritage community. He was born to Michael McGarry and Catherine O’Mara as the eighth of nine children. His father was an immigrant from County Roscommon, Ireland, who founded the family painting business in 1946.
While attending COLLINWOOD High School, McGarry worked weekends and summers for his father’s company. He joined the United States Navy after graduation, serving as a naval reservist onboard the U.S.S. Hank. Although he spent most of his service in a Philadelphia drydock, he received coverage in local newspapers during a brief trip to Cleveland in July 1965 while patrolling with the Hank.
After discharge, McGarry returned to Northeast Ohio to take on a variety of jobs, which included painting as well as bartending at the family-owned McGarry’s Lounge and the Euclid Lanes bowling alley. He focused his career responsibilities on the painting business after his father sold it to his brother Jack. The brothers carved out responsibilities for each other, with Larry leading the production department. They grew their family business to one of the most successful painting companies for industrial, restoration, and commercial projects in the area, including PROGRESSIVE FIELD, ROCKET MORTGAGE FIELDHOUSE, and the CLEVELAND CLINIC.
When McGarry was not working, he devoted much of his attention to celebrating his Irish heritage. St. Patrick’s Day was an important time for him, as every year his company sponsored the downtown parade and hosted a large party reaching upwards of 1000 guests. He also helped found the IRISH AMERICAN CLUB, EAST SIDE, INC. McGarry and his brother Jack were awarded the Irish American Archives Society’s 2016 WALKS OF LIFE AWARD.
McGarry married his wife Patricia in May of 1969. During their forty-seven-year marriage, they had two children: Elizbeth and Lawrence Jr. Lawrence McGarry passed away on October 2, 2022, surrounded by family. He is buried in All Souls Cemetery in Chardon, Ohio.
David Brennan