Larry Dean Hood
August 10, 1955 - September 10, 1990
Obituary from the Lawrence Journal World Wednesday, September 12, 1990
Services for Larry Dean Hood, 35, Lawrence, will be at 2 p.m. Friday at Immanuel Lutheran Church with burial in Oak Hill Cemetery. The Rev. Donald Miller will officiate.
Mr. Hood died Monday from injuries sustained in a one-car accident.
He was born Aug. 10, 1955, in Lawrence. He attended Lawrence public schools.
While in high school he worked at several Lawrence service stations. He had worked for Kansas Color Press from about 1975 to 1982, before working for Armour Amusements for several years. For the past five years, he was employed by Lawrence Paper Co.
Survivors include his father, Howard Hood of Missouri; his mother, Malinda Clara Wacker Hood, Lawrence; two brothers, Kenneth, California, and Terry, San Diego; and three sisters, Cheryl Wilson, Vinland, and Sandra Elston and Donna Thomas, both of Lawrence.
The family suggests memorial contributions to the Shriners' Burn Institute, in care of Rumsey Funeral Home.
Friends may call until 9 p.m. today and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home.
Story from the Lawrence Journal World Tuesday, September 11, 1990
A 35-year-old Lawrence man died Monday evening in a one-vehicle accident that may have occurred after he tried to avoid a deer, authorities and a sister of the victim said today.
The man, Larry D. Hood, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, which occurred at 6:04 p.m. Monday on Douglas County Road 458 two-tenths of a mile east of County Road 1450E. The accident was about three miles south of Lawrence.
Douglas County sheriff's officers reported that Hood was eastbound on County Road 458 in a 1975 Pontiac LeMans when he swerved left of the center line, lost control of the vehicle and then went off the south side of the road.
The car rolled and came to rest on its wheels. Hood was thrown from the vehicle and was found lying just east of the car.
A SHERIFF'S report indicated that a deputy and a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper tried to revive Hood at the scene and that Douglas County ambulance workers also performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the victim.
Authorities could not revive Hood, who was pronounced dead by Dr. Carol Moddrell, Douglas County coroner. The accident was the sixth traffic fatality recorded in Douglas County this year.
The sheriff's report does not indicate what caused Hood to swerve and lose control of his car. A blood sample was taken from his body to determine whether he had been drinking a standard procedure in a fatal accident.
Sheriff's officers were quoted Monday evening as saying Hood may have been attempting to avoid a deer.
SANDRA Elston of Lawrence, Hood's sister, said in a telephone interview this morning that authorities also told her that her brother possibly swerved to miss a deer.
Elston, who was contacted at her brother's home at 408 Ind., said Hood was a lifelong Lawrence resident who attended Central Junior High School and Lawrence High School.
Since 1985, Hood was employed as a factory worker at the Lawrence Paper Co., 2801 Lakeview Rd., a company spokesman said.
Elston said Hood had a passion for gardening and had a large vegetable garden at his home. He also planted various types of flowers around the house, she said.
Elston said Hood in February had completed the Master Gardener program offered through the Douglas County Extension Service, which gives participates 40 hours of horticulture instruction in exchange for 40 hours of volunteer help in the community.
Dennis Bejot, Douglas County Extension director, remembered Hood from class and described him as "a nice young man."
Elston said Hood's other interests included fishing, hunting and bicycling.
HOOD WAS the subject of a Journal-World story on Sept. 13, 1987, after he purchased land submerged in the Kansas River. Hood bought three lots on Maple Street for $200 at a Douglas County tax sale.
Hood bought the property as sort of a conversation piece, and opinions varied among state officials as to whether he could actually claim the land.
"If nothing else," Hood was quoted as saying at the time, "I'll frame the paper I got from the sheriff (at the county sale). Then I'll have something to hang on the wall."