Lawrence De Wanz (Larry)

Lawrence De Wanz, aka "Larry D", "Coach", "Goose" and best of all, "The Legend". Age 81 on 2-25-25. Larry was born to Marian Massa and Lawrence De Wanz and raised primarily on "The Levee" until they moved to Highland where he spent most of the rest of his life. He graduated from St. Thomas Academy in 1961 and spent three years at the U until he was drafted into the Army. He was stationed in Germany and served in the military police in Heidelberg. He also played baseball (pitcher and outfield) representing his base at games around Germany. When his dad died suddenly he was honorably discharged to take over running his dad's bar, "Larry D's", on W. 7th and Chestnut near downtown St. Paul.
Larry married Lois LeMay and they raised two beautiful daughters, Danielle and Andrea, until their divorce. They also raised Larry's much younger sister, Mary, after the death of their mother. After selling the bar, Larry primarily worked in trucking the rest of his career, running terminals in Wisconsin, Montana and Arizona, and selling trucking space for many companies around Minnesota.
Larry was an avid sportsman, playing football and baseball in high school and in college. He also played handball at the nationals in Vegas several times. He played softball and his bar sponsored softball (fast and slo-pitch) and hockey teams for the city league. He was a great golfer (lefty), but he said the best time of his sports life was as a defensive/linebacker coach in the 90's at Concordia and Macalester Colleges. Those years brought him joy. This was also when he met and married Roxanne Dockendorf and they bought a winter condo in Arizona. Sadly, she passed from cancer in 2006.
In 2007 he met Kathy Abram. He continued to spend winters in AZ until after they married in 2015 and moved full-time to AZ. They moved back to MN in 2022 to be nearer to family and friends. Larry had been diagnosed with cancer in 2011 and fought the fight until the end. Our thanks and gratitude go to MN Oncology Burnsville, good friend/doctor Dr. Tim Rumsey, and St. Croix Hospice.
Larry is survived by his wife Kathy, daughters Dani and Andrea (Jeff), grandchildren Jordan, Joey, Aly (Matt) and Alex, great-grandaughter Lara, brother Jerry, sister Mary, nephew Michael and niece Lindsey. Larry had the most amazing circles of friends both here in Minnesota and in Arizona. He said he was blessed to have you all.
A celebration of Larry's life will take place at Mancini's on March 16th from noon-3. Bring your best stories (we know you got 'em) and photos to share with everyone.