Larry Bernard Szatkowski

Larry Bernard Szatkowski, 83, died Sunday morning at My Michigan Hospital with his wife by his side. He was born to Nellie and Victor Szatkowski on March 27, 1943, and was the 4th oldest of 12 children.

After high school Larry and his neighbor and friend, BJ Matuzak, enlisted in the Army under the “buddy plan”. They rode the bus together to Detroit and once in the center were separated and did not see each other until after being discharged and back home. Larry’s mom was worried Larry wouldn’t be accepted because he was so thin, so she sent him on the bus with a bunch of bananas! Most of his 3 years of service were spent in Germany. He was proud of his US Army license plate.

In 1971, he married Carolyn Zander at St. Bernard Church. They shared 55 years of marriage and were blessed with three wonderful daughters. Lisa (Mike) Williams of Durham, North Carolina, Lori Szatkowski of Alpena, and Julie (Ryan) Roy of St. Louis Park, Minnesota. His grandchildren include 8 granddaughters including two sets of twins: Kelli (Steven) Landry, Carly Baker (Jacob), Jasmine Williams, twins Madison and Michaela Williams, Madelyn Roy and twins Abigail and Riley Roy, and one grandson, “the boy” Cameron Szatkowski. Khari, Sullivan and Ellowyn are his three great grandchildren.

His surviving siblings include two sisters, Marie (Mike) Twite and Karen Sylvester and three brothers, Kenny, Dale and Mike, all of Alpena, as well as many nieces, nephews, in-laws and cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents and three brothers Victor, Francis and David and three sisters, Nancy Ball, Joan Mumford and baby sister Jeannette.

Larry worked at the cement plant for 21 years followed by construction work with Crittenden Construction. While working full time, he enrolled in ACC’s Millwright Certificate Program. Upon completion, he joined the Millwrights Local 1102 Union and worked 17 years with the union. Traveling for work all over the state was out of his comfort zone but he did it to provide for his family and eventually liked the experiences.

Over the years, many wonderful family memories were made at their Grand Lake cottage. Recently, his question of the day was “now, when are the kids coming”? Summers were filled with many family get-togethers, laughter and storytelling. His quiet ways and dry sense of humor will be missed.

Larry was an animal lover as a small child and that continued throughout his life. He was the guy that stopped the truck to move the turtle off the road. Everyone knew about his camp dog, Odie, along with the kittens he would rescue. Before his recent illness, his afternoons were spent doing a crossword puzzle, eating an ice cream drumstick, looking at the field with a cat on his lap, the dog at his feet and his wife in the next chair reading a book. Lola, his at home dog, was his TV companion in the evenings.

He looked forward to Tuesdays when he would meet his friends John and Jeff and shoot a few games of pool. Saturday morning was breakfast with the family.

Larry was a good person, was loved, and will be missed by many.

Service will be Thursday, July 2nd, at St. Anne Catholic Church of All Saints Parish. Visitation will be from 11am until the Mass of Christian Burial at 1pm followed by a luncheon in the parish center. A.E. Ross Funeral Home assisted the family with final arrangements.

Interment will take place at Holy Cross Cemetery. Memorials to Second Chance Animal Shelter