Larry Sharp

Larry L. Sharp-75 of Saugatuck Township passed away March 8, 2021 in Sarasota, Florida where he and his wife, Pat, had been spending two months away from the Michigan winter.

Larry was born (January 28, 1946) and raised in Ohio. He graduated from The Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. He and Pat moved to the Chicago area where Larry worked 25 years with Illinois Tool Works. His favorite pastimes included amateur sports car racing, golfing, OSU football, reading in all genres, and neighborhood activities.

Larry then went to work for DDC Sales in Grand Rapids designing, representing manufacturers and selling components to the automobile industry. He and Pat moved to the Saugatuck/Douglas area in 1997.

Larry thoroughly enjoyed the local communities and served on the Douglas Downtown Development Association, working on streetscapes to enhance downtown Douglas. He also served on the Douglas Village Council. The warm, friendly people of the communities and the lakeshore was a constant joy to him. He loved sailing Lake Michigan, fishing in the river, strolling the beach, hiking the dunes, and driving his Mustang.

He joined Pat in the Lakeshore Community Chorus, where he taught himself to sight read music by labeling the note names on the keys of the piano at home and really worked until he mastered his low Bass parts. Larry became President of the chorus board and, with his steady hand on the tiller, was key to the chorus’ viability over the past few years.

He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Patricia Kemp Sharp and their son, Jason (Jaime) and his grandchildren Megan (18) and William (6)-Lake Mary, Florida. Also surviving are his brother-in-law, Gary Kemp (Janet)-Saugatuck, MI; niece Wendy Molotky (Myron) and their boys, Dominik & Danton-Spring Lake, MI; as well as his step Dad, James Klein of Cincinnati, OH.

Larry was preceded in death by his parents, Ralph Lee Sharp & Gladys Sharp Klein-Beavercreek, Ohio; his stepbrothers, Bill (Joanne), Bob (Annie)-Fairborn, Ohio and Paul Sharp (Karen) of Florida.

Contributions in his memory can be made to the Lakeshore Community Chorus https://www.lakeshorecommunitychorus.org/donations/ and The Saugatuck Center for the Arts-Growing Young Artists program https://sc4a.vbotickets.com/donations/2827.

A celebration of Larry’s life will be held in early summer.

Arrangements are by the Dykstra Funeral Home-Saugatuck Chapel.