Larry Goodson's Tribute Page
Created by
James Goodson
Created by The Goodson Family
In 1979 as Vice President of Straub Distributing, a Budweiser distributor in Orange County, Larry was asked to donate twelve cases of beer for a cystic fibrosis fundraising event. It was the Happy Days Tennis Tournament hosted by Tom Bosley.
At that event we met many families with young children, many of whom were pulling small oxygen tanks behind them. We learned that these parents had little hope that their children would live beyond 7 years old. We drove home that night without a word between us. All we heard was the soft cooing sounds from our healthy baby in his car seat. When we pulled into our driveway, Larry was the first to speak...
"What are we going to do? How can we help these children and their parents"?
By the next day, he had a plan!
Cystic fibrosis were new words for us. But they were in his heart and on his lips from that day forward. By 1982, he had begun to chair the 65 Roses Golf Classic and the 65 Roses Club began. Larry continued to volunteer for many years, serving as Chapter President in the 1980's.
In recent years, Larry started to gift his collection of sports memorabilia that he had amassed through four decades of charity auctions to new people that he met. It was his way of strategically introducing people to the cystic fibrosis story. He would urge people to "Let these children know that they are not alone! They fight for their breath, but we stand strong alongside them raising funds for research and new therapies"! His passion came from the overwhelming gratitude he had for his three healthy children.
On October 3rd, 2021 we attended our last cystic fibrosis event together. Fittingly, it was the Don Baylor 65 Roses Memorial Classic. He reminisced with old friends from years past and mingled with new faces as well. Again, a quiet drive home, but this time his words were...
"We've come a long way from a life expectancy of 7 years! Let's Fight Until It's Done"! Which had been his plan all along.
Please consider honoring Larry's Legacy with a donation to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
Sincerely,
Maggie Goodson
At that event we met many families with young children, many of whom were pulling small oxygen tanks behind them. We learned that these parents had little hope that their children would live beyond 7 years old. We drove home that night without a word between us. All we heard was the soft cooing sounds from our healthy baby in his car seat. When we pulled into our driveway, Larry was the first to speak...
"What are we going to do? How can we help these children and their parents"?
By the next day, he had a plan!
Cystic fibrosis were new words for us. But they were in his heart and on his lips from that day forward. By 1982, he had begun to chair the 65 Roses Golf Classic and the 65 Roses Club began. Larry continued to volunteer for many years, serving as Chapter President in the 1980's.
In recent years, Larry started to gift his collection of sports memorabilia that he had amassed through four decades of charity auctions to new people that he met. It was his way of strategically introducing people to the cystic fibrosis story. He would urge people to "Let these children know that they are not alone! They fight for their breath, but we stand strong alongside them raising funds for research and new therapies"! His passion came from the overwhelming gratitude he had for his three healthy children.
On October 3rd, 2021 we attended our last cystic fibrosis event together. Fittingly, it was the Don Baylor 65 Roses Memorial Classic. He reminisced with old friends from years past and mingled with new faces as well. Again, a quiet drive home, but this time his words were...
"We've come a long way from a life expectancy of 7 years! Let's Fight Until It's Done"! Which had been his plan all along.
Please consider honoring Larry's Legacy with a donation to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
Sincerely,
Maggie Goodson
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