Larry's Life
You are invited to "Celebrating Larry Gibson: The Life and Legacy of the Keeper of the Mountains" on Sunday, October 14 from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Charleston Municipal Auditorium, located on the corner of Virginia and Truslow Streets, across from the Town Center Mall in downtown Charleston, W. Va. You may invite others to attend and RSVP here.
The program will feature family, friends, prominent activists, southern West Virginia residents, musicians and preachers. We need volunteers to help with set up and clean up that day, so please reply to this e-mail in you can help out.
Larry, 66, died of a heart attack on Sunday, September 9, while working on his family’s land on Kayford Mountain, which he spent the last decades of his life protecting from mountaintop removal. Larry successfully protected fifty acres of his homeplace on Kayford Mountain and he inspired people nationwide to take action to stop mountaintop removal coal mining. He served on OVEC's board of directors for more than a decade.
On September 13, in a private funeral, Larry was laid to rest on the mountain that he loved. He is survived by his wife, Carol, two sons Cameron and Larry, Jr. and his daughter, Victoria.
Larry's family has requested that those wishing to express condolences make donations to the Keeper of the Mountains Foundation. Cards and letters to family can be mailed to the Keeper of the Mountains Foundation office at 179 Summers St, Suite 234, Charleston, WV, 25301.
The foundation has set up and area where you may post stories and photos of Larry here.
To honor Larry, Laura Flanders at GRITtv has posted an interview with author Chris Hedges, who visited with Larry while writing his book, Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt. You can watch the short version of the interview here and the full-length version here.
Below: Larry with Dog on Kayford Mountain.
Photo by Mark Schmerling.
Return to Index |