Monticello Live

Sgt. Larry Smith, Sr.
Criminal Investigator
Monticello Police Department
 

I have known Larry Smith for several years, but never really spent much time around him, until my wife’s truck was broken into a couple of years ago, and he worked the case.

When I started covering the Police Dept. for MonticelloLive,  I began to consider Larry to be a good friend.  I, like so many others was shocked to here about Larry’s battle with cancer.  There are a couple of links below that will take you to the story about the wristbands that local police officers are selling, information about the cook-out to help cover Larry’s medical expenses on April 11 & 12, and photos from Larry’s recent plane ride over Lake Monticello. 

But first, here is this week’s One Monticello Life edition, written by Larry’s longtime, family friend, Trish Harvey.

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Larry was born in Dermott Arkansas and moved to Eudora at age six.

His parents still reside in Eudora today.  He graduated in 1976 from  Eudora High School and worked as a tanker man for Brent Towing  until the summer of 1980.  Larry started his law enforcement career in July 1980 as a patrolman for the Eudora Police Department until October 31, 1985 when he moved to Lake Village and became Sergeant over the patrol division. He then began working  at UAM Department of Public Safety so he could further his education while working.  Larry was hired by the Monticello Police Department on August 9, 1992.  He was a patrolman for four years before becoming a Sgt. in the Criminal Investigation Division in 1996.  He works all types of felony investigations from Homicide to Financial Identity Fraud and everything in between.

Larry says the best part of his job is getting to work with all types of people, catching the bad guys and helping those in need. His plans for the future  are to continue doing what he is doing, until he can’t do it anymore. He considers his co-workers part of his extended family. 

He has one son, who he is very proud of, Larry Smith, Jr., who is a deputy for the Drew County Sheriff’s Department; a daughter in law, Chasidy and four grand-children, Lawton, Kelby, Karter and Jalee. Larry is very proud to be called “Papa Smith”.    He also has two very special nieces, Laci Harris and Lindsey Harvey. He loves his family very much and on bad days when no one else can cheer him up, his grandkids or nieces always put a smile on his face. 

Captain Eddy Deaton considers Larry to be, “a man with a heart of gold.  Anytime you need help, he is a phone call away.”

Lt. John Dement, CID, says Larry is an awesome investigator, well organized, extremely dependable and a very good friend.
 
Lt. Gail Hyatt has worked with Larry about twenty years.  She says, “Larry has pulled pranks on me and aggravated me, laughing the whole time with his wonderful sense of humor.  On the other hand, if anything needs fixing or anyone needs help, he is always ready to help. Not many people know it, but Larry is a great poet. I am glad to call him my friend.”

Former Mayor Harold West said “I came to know Larry in 1992 after he was hired into the Monticello Police Department by Chief Bob Maxwell.  The chief said he had employed a very fine young man who was both loyal and diligent.  I found that to be be true along with the fact that he  had a very pleasing personality, coupled with a strong work ethic.  Larry, you are truly a credit to the Monticello Police Department and the city of Monticello.”

 Former Police Chief Sam Norris thinks Larry is the easiest person he has ever worked around, never complained or griped. Anytime anyone asked Larry to do something the answer was always the same “Yeah, I will do it”.

Sgt. Steven Stain, added Larry has provided a lot of memorable moments over he past 11 years with all of us at the Monticello Police Department. He has  enjoyed working with him over these past years and looks forward to  many more years to come.
 
Larry’s hobbies are wood work, fishing and spending time with eople that are special to him.
 
He has 2 cats Puss Kitty and Puss Puss Kitty Kitty.
 
Larry’s favorites include:
 
Restaurant- Bonanza
TV Shows- Ghost Hunters, Paranormal State
Movie- Dantes Peak
Actor- Chuck Norris
Music – Classical
Song or Hymn- He’s Alive by Dolly Parton
Author – Stephen King

Here’s the link to Larry’s recent plane ride over Lake Monticello. 

Here’s a link to the Larry Smith Wristband story.

And here’s the information about the cook-out on April 11 & 12.

Thanks, Larry Smith, for sharing your One Monticello Life.

Click on the tab above to read other editions of One Monticello Life.

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 30th, 2008 at 4:44 pm and is filed under Feature: OML. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.