LAWRENCE “UNCLE LEROY” EVERHART

My Dad joined my mom Peggy, Grandson Alex DiPaolo, Nephew and Niece Bob Spring and Tammy Spring, Elizabeth Spring, his sisters Mae and Joann, Brother Joe Everhart, My grandparents, Martin and Sara Blake, Edna, Aunt Olive and best friends Byron Messer and of course, Smitty and Lavon.

At one time, the youngest, he became the oldest remaining Patriarch of the family but more so, He became everyone’s “Uncle Leroy.”

It’s funny how life morphs into mutual experiences and memories of my Dad. John meeting and announcing his proposal to me and Dad never came out from under the car, the smells of Piedmont Lake and Campbellford, Canada, salmon fishing and my mom preparing the haul or shooting pool in the basement. Fast cars, revived cars, painting cars, selling, and trading cars. Florida and fishing and making new friends like Phil and Ringo, Grace, Donna and living his best life in the winters with Cousin Ron, who is a nephew, a brother and friend and son all in one.

The list is long and while he had many accomplishments, the most important of all, is the end of a man.

To have loving, lifelong friends like Frankie Sciarra, Nick Minini, Bill Fabian, Ed Clee, and Byron Messer and Smitty, is a quest that he conquered.

Then again, maybe it was them that conquered him.

God judges the intent of the heart. The man once so stubborn and known to do it “his way,” had become the portrait of a man who had developed wisdom and a commitment to brotherhood and community. Hebrews 10:24 says, “Let us consider how to stir one another up to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together to encourage one another all the more, as you see the day approaching.

Sadly, the day has approached, and he has passed.

I know he may never have said these words of love and pride to many of you who may be the oldest, the youngest or the only, but here are the words for the generations of children we will all leave behind: (Kalie, Misty, Melissa, Ashley, Christopher, Robert, Pam, Ricky and Joy, Joe Joe and Joy, Christine Hibbets, Susie Cunnigham, Matt Gladowski and all of the youngest not listed but those who will be the future)

He loved you all! You brought him to life in these past few years. He loved you and was so proud of you. Be brave and courageous in life and love. Remember him with joy! Have faith in God who says, weep not for these as those who have no hope for they are taken from the calamity to come and now dwell with God our creator. Know that God put us all here, at this place and time, for this season. God says he knows his plans for us, plans to prosper us, to not harm us and plans to give us a future. Live with joy, remember my Dad with joy! Say a prayer and raise a hand to heaven as he is carried home by the angels and in the company of a great cloud of witnesses who have gone on before. Love God with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. God has our paths laid out for all our days. Thank you for sharing all the days past and be blessed in the days to come. He may be gone from view, but all of heaven’s joys are at his fingertips. You will be missed Dad, Uncle Leroy, Husband, Grandfather and Friend. You will be remembered. Over and out.

A gravesite memorial service will be held on June 7, 2025, at 11 AM at the Richmond Union Cemetary in Richmond, Ohio. In lieu of flowers, go to the lake and remember days gone by. Fish a bit or toss a memento. Live joyfully all your days and have no regrets!