Larry A. Urich

Larry Allen Urich, 56, of Shawnee, KS died peacefully at home Monday, November 2, 2020 following a long illness.

Larry was born August 19, 1964 to Walter T. Urich Jr and LaVonne (Starmer) Urich in Kansas City, KS, and was the oldest of three children.  Raised in Shawnee with his siblings, he attended Hocker Grove Jr High and Shawnee Mission North High School, where he played football and gained many lifelong friends.

Growing up Larry enjoyed spending a few weeks a year on his aunt and uncle's dairy farm in northern Missouri, where he was introduced to country living and hunting, and was known as the Shawnee Sherriff. Larry spent the majority of his adult years with his family living in southeast Kansas where he continued his love for living in the country, riding horses, hunting, and where he always had one of his German shepherds by his side.

Larry was a huge motorcycle enthusiast (off and on-road) and started riding at a young age with many of his closest junior high and high school friends. Even after several accidents and many broken bones, Larry continued to ride all through life, up until several months ago before his illness took away his ability to lay the rubber down. Larry loved riding his Harley which allowed him to meet so many people from all walks of life.  One of his many riding highlights was taking a 12-day trip to Sturgis South Dakota during the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally to celebrate his 50th birthday with his younger brother and niece in 2014. He also traveled to Maine and New Hampshire the last several years to visit his brother during the annual Laconia Motorcycle Rally, where he met and became friends with many of New England's riding community, and where he was affectionately known as "Larry from Kansas" or "Oz".

A lifelong Kansas City Chiefs fan, Larry waited 50 years from their last championship for the Chiefs to reclaim Super Bowl Glory in 2020.  He absolutely loved watching his Chiefs and was fortunate enough to watch the Chiefs win a game surrounded by family and friends the day before he joined the Lord and his father Walt in heaven.

Larry was larger than life, always smiling and laughing, and was certainly known to his extended family and friends as the practical joker, where no dinner or family gathering was ever dull.  He never knew a stranger and would lend a helping hand to anyone that needed it. He was a gentle giant, a teddy bear, and was always there if you needed someone to talk to or just get a hug. He was a loving son, brother, father, grandfather (Papa), and friend.  Larry's infectious smile, gentle demeanor, wise cracks, and crazy story telling will be missed by so many.

Larry was preceded in death by his father, and is survived by his mother of Shawnee; daughter Tara and five grandchildren, Dearah, Donovan, Amina, Kanaan, and Yassmin, of Ozawkie, KS; son Larry-Michael of Shawnee; sister Teresa of Kansas City, KS; brother Michael, niece Taylor, and nephews Casey and Corey, of Rochester, New Hampshire; and many aunts/uncles and cousins.

Due to Covid-19 there is a limit of 45 people in the chapel at once. Social distancing and masks are required. Family and friends are encouraged to watch the service live on the link below.

A visitation will be from 5:00pm-7:00pm, Sat., Nov. 7, 2020 with a memorial service starting at 7:00pm at Amos Family Funeral Home. To watch the service please click here.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Down Syndrome Guild of Greater Kansas City.