Larry Kent McLaughlin, 86, of Shelbyville, passed away June 21, 2024, peacefully at home surrounded by family after a short illness. He was born in Little Otter, WV on October 2, 1938. He was the son of the late Carl B. (Doc) and Gladys McLaughlin. He graduated from Gassaway High School in 1957.
Larry retired in 2015, from Vecellio & Grogan, Inc. He spent his life in the construction industry building roads and bridges that span some of the highly traveled highway systems in the United States. Larry began his career in construction as an inspector in 1961 for the WV Dept. of Transportation, division of Highways. He quickly moved to a superintendent over highway and bridge projects for the WVDOT.
In 1969 Larry accepted a position at S.J. Groves and Sons where he would become the General Manager of Construction. While at S.J. Groves, some of Larry’s notable accomplishments included projects on I-79 in Sutton, WV, US 460 in Bluefield, WV and he was responsible for a 10,000 LF taxiway for the Raleigh-Durham Airport in Raleigh, NC.
In 1987, Larry made a shift to the Danis Southeast Highways Division where he worked on several highway and site projects in Florida. Larry served as the Vice President and Area Manager.
Larry continued his career with V & G until his retirement. Even then, he continued in a consulting capacity for many years, taking the helicopter to various job locations from WV, VA, NC, and IL. Most people that worked with Larry kept his number on speed dial, because he was always willing to talk and help others with their challenges.
Larry was always a well-respected member of the construction industry. His leadership ability attracted talent because he was able to guide with liberty those being led.
When Larry retired, he and his wife, Margaret, moved permanently to Shelbyville, where he was very active in the TN Walking Horse Association and continued to show his horses until 2023.
Larry will be missed by his wife of 50 years, Margaret Corley McLaughlin. He is survived by his daughters, Elizabeth (Ronald) Eason of Titusville, FL and Marian (Scott) Kuhn of Palm Bay, FL, seven grandchildren and seven great- grandchildren. Also surviving are his siblings Frank McLaughlin, Valgene McLaughlin, Charlene Perkey and Darlene Maxwell, and several nieces and nephews. He is also survived by his Aunt Jenny Hardway. In addition to his parents, he was pre-deceased by his son Michael Kent McLaughlin.
Visitation was held June 27, 2024, from 11:00-1:00 pm at Richard Roach Funeral Home in Gassaway, WV, followed by his funeral at 1:00pm. He was buried in Sugar Creek Cemetery, Gassaway, WV immediately after the service.
A memorial service was held at Feldhaus Memorial Chapel in Shelbyville on July 1st with visitation at 5:00pm and service at 6:00pm.
The family would like to extend a special thanks to Mason Douglas, ARNP-C and Compassus Hospice Care.
