Larry Edwin Pallas
Marriages
Larraine Vollmert - 1975
Obituaries
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 6B - November 14, 2012
August 1, 1950 – November 3, 2012
On a blue-sky autumn day Larry Edwin Pallas, age 62, died
unexpectedly of an aortic aneurysm at home in Grand Junction, CO.
He was unwaveringly sure of a place in Heaven, and believed God
would administer justice in the afterlife to those souls who had
escaped it on earth. Larry was born in Pender, Nebraska
to Betty Jane Sherwood, a lovely and talented teacher of Irish
descent, and Edwin John Pallas, a tall, handsome Czech, who was a
mechanic and amateur inventor. Their family was complete when
baby sister, JoAnn, arrived after being dropped, four year-old Larry
was convinced, into the peony bushes out in front of the house.
When he discovered that she cried a lot and couldn't play baseb all,
he insisted that his parents "take her back"!
Larry's life-long love of sports cars and all things speedy w as first
expressed at age nine months when his dad drove away to work:
"Daddy, car, car. Brrrr!" After graduating from Mitchell High
School in Colorado Springs, Larry bought a Gold Wing Honda 750,
followed by a GTO Judge, and several Camaros and Corvettes over
the years. Birthdays included a ride with a pro driver in a Lamborghini
Countach, and a helicopter ride over the Monument.
He loved the mountains, especially Rocky Mountain National Park
and Maroon Bells. After marrying Larraine Vollmert in 1975, they
honeymooned near Dillon Reservoir. A late afternoon hike became a
lost-in-the-woods, midnight adventure after they missed the path in
a boulder field.
Their daughter, Lara Nicole, was born in Ft. Collins in 1979. It was
a meeting of two adept minds…Larry loved to teach, and Lara loved
to learn, though they never quite resolved what might be on the outside
of the universe.
Working seemed to be what Larry always did. A paper route when
he was nine, accordion teacher, soda jerk, bus boy, respiratory
therapist, and then electrical engineering and computer science degrees
led to IBM for seven years. When that became a job design -
ing ways to knock ICBMs out of the sky, he changed course and
earned a master's degree in medical physics. He worked at University
and Swedish Hospitals in Denver before joining the Radiation
oncology department at St. Mary's in Grand Junction 11 years ago
and later, San Juan Cancer Center in Montrose. His passion for excellence
led him to double and redouble his efforts as chief physicist
to ensure everything he did would help the Advanced Medicine
Pavilion live up to its name.
Larry is survived by wife, Larraine; daughter, Lara (Andy) Janiszewski;
mother, Betty; sister, JoAnn(Matt) Lewis; nephew, Edward
(Rose) Lewis; uncle, Amos Sherwood; cousins, Wayne Pallas
(Carol Cameron) and Carol (Skip) Morris, and other extended fam -
ily. His father, Ed, predeceased him last year.
Cremation has taken place. A service is being held at Callahan-Edfast
Mortuary on Saturday, November 17 at 12 noon and is open to
all who would like to join us in celebrating Larry's life.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to National Cancer
Society, United Way, Red Cross, VFW, or NRA
