04/19/1945 – 07/04/2025
Kindness, baseball, family, a deep belief in God’s goodness and love — these words defined Larry Dean Meyer throughout his whole life.
Larry was born April 19, 1945, in Titonka, Iowa. He died at Evergreen Hospice Center, Kirkland, Washington on July 4, 2025 at the age of 80 due to irreversible end stage Parkinson’s disease.
Larry grew up as the second child in a family of five children in a small farming community in northcentral Iowa. He attended the local schools and the Woden Christian Reformed Church. While growing up, he helped with farm work, learned to paint barns and houses, and of course, played softball and followed professional teams avidly.
Larry attended Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa, where he met Barb. First just friends, the couple realized they deeply loved each other and were married on September 6, 1967, right before their senior college year. After graduation Larry went on to Calvin Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and become an ordained minister in the Christian Reformed Church.
Larry’s work life alternated between church pastor and Bible teacher. As pastor, he first served a small congregation in Holland, Minnesota, and then a church in Des Moines, Iowa. Three children, Jeremy, Nathan, and Stephanie, came into the family during this time. He delighted in his children and in providing joy, fun, and security for the family.
He then felt called to work more exclusively with teenagers and secured a teaching job at Watson Groen (now Shoreline) Christian School in Seattle, Washington. He was known for creating a class to show young adults ways to help further God’s kingdom on earth.
After 17 years of teaching, Larry then joined University Presbyterian Church as a congregational care pastor. Fellow workers there knew him as someone quickly responding to people’s needs and having a heart for care and compassion. When that job ended, Larry served as an on call weekend pastor at Bellevue Presbyterian Church and as a substitute teacher for King’s High School in Seattle.
On weekends, Larry and Barb loved to explore the beauty of northwest Washington. Easy hikes and ferry rides to various islands were among favorites. In later years, Larry and Barb also took up distance walking, completing several half marathons and one full marathon. You could also find Larry playing ball or watching the sport on TV whenever he was able.
But the highlight of these years was the birth of his grandchildren – Levi Linn, Ella Linn, and Katy Lorenzen. Larry was a caring, loving, and fun-loving grandfather who spent as much time as possible with his grandchildren. Granddaughter Ella writes this:
One of his greatest joys in life was being a grandfather. He was deeply involved in the lives of his grandchildren, always showing up with love, encouragement, and a playful sense of humor. He even served as a substitute teacher at their school, where he became a familiar and beloved figure not only to his own grandchildren, but to many of their classmates and teachers.
More than anything, he led by example — not just in words, but through the quiet, consistent way he lived through Faith. He loved sharing the Word of God, whether through casual conversations, thoughtful advice, or the way he treated others with compassion and humility. His love for God was evident in all aspects of his life — in his unwavering integrity, his kind and respectful manner toward others, and his steadfast commitment to living out his faith through service and devotion. He leaves behind a legacy of love, faith ….and Super Quizzes! Though he is deeply missed, his spirit lives on in the values he passed down, the stories he shared, and the lives he touched.
Larry is survived by his loving and much loved wife, Barbara, his three children and three grandchildren, and his two sisters, Marj Nibbelink and Jean DeJong, and a brother, Dale Meyer.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, August 30, 2025, at 1:00pm at Bellevue Presbyterian Church, 1717 Bellevue Way North, Bellevue, WA 98004.
Throughout his life Larry believed two things deeply: that God loved him and never failed him in any circumstance, and that God calls us to kindness and grace to others. He spoke to the end, even with wavering voice, of the goodness of God.
The post first appeared on Barton Family Funeral Service.