Larry tries to describe the death of a mountain.

Thank you Larry. I am shattered by your death and will write more (& share more of the recordings) about how you changed my life and entered me in ways that go beyond the few days we spent together. For such a giant, a speaker of truth, unfiltered and uncompromising, those few days will never be forgotten and have changed my life. Know that your power of simply being right with such grace and dignity in the face of the massive crimes and injustice of Mountaintop Removal and the massive personal sacrifices you faced, have a resonance even surprising to me.

Somehow the time I spent with you as you hauled my trailer up to Kayford Mountain has miraculously multiplied in ways that I will begin explain as I understand it more.  I have never met anyone like you before, ever and you lead so many of us to be better, to speak out more and to remember the value of all the beauty of life and nature that surrounds us. Why it is essential and that each of us must stand up. When you said to “use your anger to get over your fear” so you do something, I could hear the ethereal applause. It and our homes and culture you reminded are worth defending tirelessly.  As my sobbing stops I will write more of the pilgrimage I made to your mountain, but for now thank you dearest Larry.

A private funeral is planned, and Larry’s family has requested that people wishing to express condolences make donations to Keeper of the Mountains Foundation, which Larry founded in 2004 to support mountain communities. A public memorial service will be announced. Please donate to continue Larry’s work and to save the mountains. As Larry said and was always emblazoned on his fluorescent shirt, “Love em or leave em; just don’t destroy em.”

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