Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Larry Clark Ross Sr.

[Music] [Music] left [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] may we stand blessed is the man and walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly standeth in the way of sinners sitteth in the seat of the scornful his delight is in the law of the lord and in this law does he meditate day and night and he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water bring forth fruit in his season his leaf shall not wither and whatever he doeth shall prosper the ungodly eye not soul but i like a shaft which the wind driveth away therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous for the lord knoweth the way of the righteous but the way of the ungodly shall perish the earth is the lord's and the fullness thereof [Music] the world and they that dwell therein [Music] for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the floods [Music] who shall ascend into the hill of the lord or shall stand in his holy place he that have clean hands and a pure heart who have not lifted up his soul unto vanity nor sworn deceitfully he shall receive a blessing from the lord and righteousness from the god of his salvation this is the generation of them that seek him that seek thy face o jacob lift up your heads all ye gates and be ye lifted up the everlasting doors and the king of glory shall come in who is this king of glory the lord strong and mighty the lord mighty in battle lift up your heads oh ye gates be lifted up the everlasting doors and the king of glory shall come in who is this king of glory the lord of hosts he is the king of glory the lord is my light and my salvation whom shall i fear the lord is the strength of my life of whom shall i be afraid when the weekend even mine enemies and foes came upon me to eat up my flesh they stumbled and fell though in hosts she didn't camp against me my heart shall not fear the war should rise against me in this will i be confident one thing have i desired of the lord and that will i seek after [Music] to dwell in the house of the lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the lord to inquire in his temple in the time of trouble he shall hide me in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me he shall set my feet upon a rock and my head shall be lifted above mine enemies round about me wait on the lord be of good courage and he shall strengthen thine heart wait i say on the lord [Music] i want you right now to help me thank god for the life the lineage and the legacy of our dear brother larry clark ross singer if he's made an indelible impression in your life come on let's thank god for his life hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah we as christians [Music] we believe we don't live to die but we live to live again the bible says to be absent from this body [Music] is to be present with the lord this time as we move forward in the service we're going to have a fraternity tribute by the members of omega sci-fi fraternity led by our officiant today reverend young skaggs you may be seated as they come at this time you uh oh oh oh foreign [Music] [Music] me so [Music] [Music] [Music] as all life must perish even as we must come to the process of the great divide so has our brother reached that stage let us then resign ourselves our departed brother another keeper of ross was initiated to the omega sci-fi fraternity on april 26 1920 the alpha theta chapter as part of soul to soul he was eager fervent and passionate from day one enthusiastically get quite intentional when it came to chapter omega business brother larry ross has played an amazing visionary aspect in which he always perceived the best view of the long before they realized it in themselves he wasn't sincere in genetic ability to encourage empower and uplift those you came into contact with that made brotherhood special as a member of the chapter brother lady ross readily accepted and fulfilled a number of offices from basilis president to keep our record in seals as well as chapter editor to oracle upon graduation brother ross became an active member of fayetteville the phoenix graduate chapter serving as editor to oracle executive director of the omega loop youth leadership academy as well as a member of the 12th district youth leadership conference brother iraq embodied the true spirit of mentorship and simplified the true meaning of servant leader he was a master teacher a visionary an organized mentor to many youth in general and young males of colors to be particular with unwavering passion that led to the implementation of the omega-leaf youth leadership academy which turned many young males from being statistics and casualties in the vast school prison school of the prison population rather than rewriting many as they matriculate to colleges in arizona and across the united states oil graduates 95 percent of this his participants with the high school diploma brother larry ross will be forever remembered as a member of alpha data chapter may his memory live on his life work forever inspire and encourage all for us to reach for the stars brothers you have heard the record of our departed brother he has been a shining light in the bright crown of omega the radiance of his star will furnish a guiding ray to many who will come out there to seek the light that is omega the members of our fraternity are bound inseparably by a chain of friendship and russian brotherhood that makes the joys of one we also share our happiness and pleasures our hopes and dreams our very life this comrade shift my brother extends even to and beyond the grave neither height or depth nor wall however high or wide can foil the deep desire of us all to be at peace with those our brothers in whatever state brother silence shadow death has again visited our omega forest of light and fell one of our sturdy trees but we do not sorrow as men without hope the matter in which we live influences our attitude towards death we are instructed that manhood scholarship perseverance and uplift shall be the rules of life by which we live he who has lived the manly life is well prepared to face death to be manly is to live a life of high principles to have a goal and to be courageous in the attaining of that goal the steadfast adherence to so noble a concept difficult though it may be must of necessity be of inestimable value in the development of sterling character to be a man may well mean to be a martyr to a cause but the age of martyrdom is that one has lived not as a brave empowered but as those glorious men were left behind the manhood or record written in the blood of sacrifice or record to be read by many who will come after if we have lived as men we cannot but that we will die amen we die we must be this brother's keeper to be the aim of every man unselfish living is a rare and precious gem to be sought by all manhood that not that what we have done but what we give to a worthy standard of man who would uplift the race of men we must reach down and lift our fellow men so that they too will stand as men of pride and character for all the world to see this is the life omega demand of her son brothers let us not merely wipe away the tear that falls for him let us hear resolve with god's grace that we shall continue to hold allah the banner of omega as lonely as he our departed brothers in so doing we may be assured that the life we now memorialize will serve as a beacon to guide some other person into that life which is circumscribed by omega's cardinal principles let us pray now knows oh down city of our and our uprisings and understands our thoughts of far off shield and defend us from all evil from all evil thoughts and intentions support us under the trials and afflictions we are destined to endure while traveling through this veil of tears man that is born of a woman is of a few days and full of trouble he comes forth like a flower and withers he flees like a shadow and continues now since his days are determined and the number of his months is with thee and thou has supported his bounds that he cannot pass now look for him and decide that he may enjoy like a higher lead his day if there is hope for a tree if it is away or be roused of his sleep yet oh lord have compassion on the children of these thou creations administer their comfort in time and trouble save them for an everlasting salvation oh god the supreme bosses of the universe the creator sustained the last repose of all mankind we command to thou eternal keeping the soul of our departed brother we know that in thy love and mercy he may find the confidence and rest in all men see we commend him to be as into the hands of a loving father who cares for his children remember him oh lord according to the favor that to all thy people grant that increasing in knowledge and love of thee he may go from strength to strength into the light of perfect service in thy heavenly kingdom through jesus christ our lord amen again from the dead our lord jesus christ the great shepherd of the sheep to the blood of the everlasting covenant make us perfect in every good work do his will working in us that which is well pleasing in his sight through jesus christ who will be glory forever amen brothers all things are now well and fittingly accomplished i hereby instruct the keeper of records and seals to strike from the world of alpha theta and the fire of this returning for all eternity that he inscribed our departed brother's name on the roles of omega chapel where shall furnish light and adornment an even greater degree than here on earth oh [Music] we'll see my friends [Music] me [Music] our return [Music] is [Music] four [Music] years to sir [Music] and when we say [Music] oh [Music] the air will be our and when we say oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] let's praise god for the men of omega sci-fi come on amen you know larry would always tease me because i'm an alpha [Music] and he told me pastor you know you made the wrong wrong choice and i would tell larry it's all right larry because jesus said i'm alpha and omega amen so there's room at the cross for all of us i'm going to lead us in the first half of this experience and then brother skaggs will return to lead us in the remainder we're going to have now scripture reading old testament psalm 23 from lynn mosley new testament second timothy 4 7 8 edith stewart if you come right to that microphone there we certainly appreciate it many of you have come in since we began the service we're asking that for the entirety of the service that you please maintain social distancing and please keep your mask on that's over your nose and mouth thank you so much good morning saints give an honor to our lord and savior jesus christ and to this great church and our pastors elders ministers and to the members here so i'm going to read from god's servant david psalms 23 and it's in our program the lord is my shepherd i shall not want he maketh me to lie down in green pastures he leadeth me beside the still waters he restoreth my soul he leadeth me in the path of righteousness for his name's sake yea though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death i will fear no evil for thou art with me thy rod and thy staff comfort me thou preparest a place a table before me in the presence of my enemies thou an anointed my head with oil my cup runneth over surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and i will dwell in the house of the lord forever [Music] so greetings reverend mackey reverend howard aretha avery family and friends the parable of talent matthew 25 20 21 and so that he had received five talents came and brought other five talents saying lord thou deliverst unto me five talents behold i have gained beside them five talents more his lord said unto him well done by good and faithful servants i am married to larry's uncle and he called him dr bob and dr bob tells me that when larry was little he was different he was always talking and always joking and just a busy body and he would have to tell them sit down so i can watch 60 minutes i think that there is no dispute that larry used his talents ordained by god very well he used those same attributes that boundless energy the ability to talk to anyone in any setting at any time at any table he used those things to prepare youngsters for higher education and to encourage them to go out into the world and be great i see many of you here today ii timothy 4 6-8 for i am now ready to be offered and the time of my departure is at hand i have fought a good fight i have finished my course i have kept the faith henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the lord the righteous judge shall give me that day today is larry's day the crown is yours larry you have both taught to talk and walk the walk larry was a god-fearing man he was an incredibly energetic man he was an omega man he was a family man and he was a clark man larry we will miss you dearly but we feel joy in knowing that we'll see you on the other side godspeed [Applause] thank you so much stewart the program now calls for us to pray because we know that during this time family the prayers of the righteous will certainly sustain you let us say together of the lord's prayer let us begin our father which art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil thine is the kingdom the power and the glory forever amen ushers you may let those good brothers omega sci-fi in i'm going to turn the program over now to brother reverend jonathan young skaggs who officiate for the remainder of the service [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] so [Music] good morning my family [Music] we are families in the bodyhood and brotherhood and kingship of jesus christ there are some divisions that need not exist in this house they are dissipated we thank you for your presence here today ask your diligence as we attempt to follow the program as printed allowing of course for the holy spirit's visitation somebody say amen beloveds we are at peace with you [Music] so without further ado we'll have a couple of musical selections followed by the reading of the obituary another music selection and then we'll have the reading of resolutions and those who have resolutions have been advised when to come forward and so on let us hear from the music department [Music] and so if my heart is not in a strange place [Music] i seem to have made an error already there is a poem reading i beg your diligence as they come and then we'll have musical selections amen amen good morning church my name is flochin sanders i am larry's mother first give an honor to my pastor mackie and to the other pulpit guests i wrote this poem because it was what i thought about larry as someone as my aunt already said that larry would talk and talk and talk so my point is go too soon i wrote larry a letter i said dear larry a part of me was snatched away on the day when i lost you i wish i could see you come walking through the door with a great big smile saying mama what are you doing i know you feel my tears you meant everything to me you were everything a son could be you were perish precious and wonderful you were one in a million in life i love you dearly in depth i love you still in my heart i hold a place that only you can feel it broke my heart to lose you but you didn't go alone a part of me went with you the days that god took you home my heart on that day a heart stopped breathing a hand working at rest i pray that god will give me strength as i struggle with heartaches when i lost you i treasure my memories of you forever rest in peace my dear son i love you love mama september 18 2021. [Applause] [Music] i'm going away [Music] [Music] two places [Music] a special place [Music] my [Music] inside no more tears our sorrows over there we will live free from every care i'm going away [Music] nobody nobody there to put me out cause i'm going away [Music] yes i am all right just for [Music] leave you me oh yes i am is oh oh yes oh oh my god hey wow [Music] [Applause] yes i am [Music] hey i'm going away are you going with jesus [Music] [Applause] i want to live [Music] [Music] i mean you know this is a celebration and everyone want us to be giving god praise we're going to sing a little song just encourage you it says jesus [Music] [Music] we say it one more time say jesus [Music] the way this is [Music] [Music] all oh me every day i know come on i got one more witness here sometimes [Music] [Music] one more time [Music] i know we will like say jesus take jesus be a busy protection protection [Music] protection protection along the way i need your protection and those lonely and dark hours gotta be offensive he'll come and wrap his arms around you and i don't know about you but there's 80 years on all you got to do is call come on you want to clap your hands so you feel better [Music] lord have mercy i don't need a head i need a fence amen [Music] i need jesus to be more than just a hedge around i need a fence not to keep the spirit out but to keep the devil the devil guest jesus be offense [Music] obituary will be read this morning we prepare our hearts to listen to the kind words that will help us understand better who this young man is amen he is present tense he is brother larry is alive and well in each and every one of us he might be he might be he might be but he's still right here amen he's still right here in our hearts he's still right here in our minds he's still right here in our soul he's still right here [Music] these bodies are but a shell [Music] and it does hurt sorry man praise the lord everybody the life of larry clark ross senior larry clark ross senior's life began on april 2nd 1967 born in chicago illinois at cook county hospital to flo sheen and harvey ross he was the second oldest of four children dwayne ross daryl dawson darrell dawson i'm sorry andre dawson and utlane juice mcnair larry moved to hanford california with his family at the age of two years old he attended monroe elementary woodrow junior high and hanford high school during larry's high school years he was class president homecoming king and an original member of the dewey street breakers as well as the first black quarterback on the varsity football team [Applause] after graduating from hanford high school in 1985 he received a scholarship to arizona western college where he played baseball and received his associates degree he then attended grand canyon university where he played baseball as well and received his bachelor's degree in communication while attending grand canyon university at arizona state university larry ross senior became a member of the omega sci-fi fraternity incorporated alpha theta chapter spring 1990. he then met his one and only true love mrs julia aretha ross and they married on march 22 1997. they have three beautiful children sabrina sierra and larry clark ross ii and his legacy granddaughter nala larry rossini was a huge pillar into his community he impacted many lives from the youth to adults he started teaching over 25 years ago he started at phoenix asu prep academy he coached baseball at central high school torton coached at westwood high school and was the dean of students at southpointe high school he then transitioned to sierra linda high school where he taught yearbook and photography larry went on to hope academy as the director of student services he also was very involved in his son's coaching whether it be whether it was little league baseball club baseball basketball football etcetera larry ross senior was truly passionate about the youth's future he was adamant about making sure that all resources were available to those who wanted to better themselves no matter what life path they chose he was the mentor that was easily relatable and made you feel like family with always having the youth in mind mr larry ross implemented the omega youth leadership academy his comprehensive community-based youth development program designed to effectively empower and educate males of color in the 5th through 12th grades on how to face and overcome social and personal barriers through a year-long curriculum that includes bi-monthly seminars and workshops in addition to providing culturally competent educational enrichment and personal growth activities larry ross senior is survived by his mother flochine sanders wife of 25 years julia betty boop ross his three children sabrina sierra and larry ross the second granddaughter nala brothers nieces nephews the clark family as well as other family and friends larry you will truly be missed until we meet again [Applause] praise the lord everybody oh what's real quiet here come on praise the lord everybody praise the lord look at your neighbor say neighbor it may be a funeral it may be a funeral but we're here to celebrate jesus come on we're here to celebrate the life of brother larry and i got a call from sister julian she said hey listen i just want y'all to turn up one no we don't want no dead service she said we don't want no quiet service we want it to turn up loud so look at your neighbor say neighbor we about to turn up we about to turn our praise up here we go this song simply says i've never seen the righteous forsaken know his seed breaking bread hey come now i'm on oh since you don't have to worry about a thing you don't have to worry hey no receipt everybody that way let's go i've never seen it i've never i've never seen it i've never seen it come on everybody in this place let's create some praise in here i've never seen it [Applause] [Music] that's testimony right there [Music] hey man that doesn't mean every day is gonna be easy that doesn't mean everything is always gonna go your way but i've never seen it i've never seen it i've never seen i've never seen it i have never seen it oh butt butter butter mustard seed butter mustard seed we have two resolutions this afternoon from our home church and from the brotherhood of omega sci-fi afternoon give an honor to god dr mackey reverend young skaggs the berea family into each present here today this is our midway service mass check if you've seen that your mass is below your nose or above your mouth please take the time to make the adjustment at this time resolution and acknowledgements on behalf of pilgrimage baptist church whereas you sincerely have our prayers and our condolences the officers and members of pilgrimage baptist church in phoenix arizona feel that it is befitting to express their sympathy to the family of brother larry ross brother ross united with pilgrim wrestle on february 4th in 1996. brother ross ensured the youth of pilgrim rest received premium access to all community collaborations and events brother ross was instrumental as a mentor in liaison for our ironman network mentoring program for the youth of pilgrim he ensured they participated in the omega youth leadership academy yearly he was also an educator for our yearly summer's adventures and learning sale program here at pilgrims baptist church whereas in the passing of your beloved brother in christ there's a human tie that has been broken which believes the heart in agony and pain we are encouraged and consoled in the words of jesus who said i will never leave thee nor forsake thee hebrews 13 and 5. to the family we know your loss is deep and your sorrow is great but we want you to know that we share in your sorrow and more importantly we recognize that this loss is heaven's gain be it resolved that a copy of this resolution is given to the family and a copy kept in the church archives humbly submitted on this 18th day of september 2021 the officers and members of pilgrimage baptist church under the leadership of pastor terry eugene mackey acknowledgements the family of larry clark ross senior would like to express our sincere gratitude to all of you for your words of sympathy your voice of concern your gesture of caring and for your prayers love and support during this time we would also we would also like to thank pilgrimage baptist church extended family friends and omega sci-fi fraternity incorporated many beautiful and wonderful things cannot always be seen or touched they are felt within the heart and what you've done for us is one of those things thank you from the bottom of our hearts the ross family first giving honor to god to the shepherd of this house my pastor dr terry mackey to our chaplain brother jonathan young skaggs and the other ministers on the roster and to the entire ross family i'm brother andrew davis i rise to deliver his proclamation on behalf of my brothers alpha theta chapter fiota chapter and the massive and progressive 12th district of v omega's i5 fraternity incorporated his proclamation will be as red is copied and framed and sits among the four illuminated candles here on the table and agrees as such whereas brother larry c ross senior embodied the true spirit of friendship and is always willing as a brother omega sci-fi fraternity founded november 17 1911 on the campus of howard university by three undergraduate students and a faculty advisor omega was born out of a dream which developed into an abiding friendship between three men whereas from the initials of the greek phrase meaning friendship is essential to the soul the name omega sci-fi was derived and manhood scholarship perseverance and uplift were adopted at the car as the carton of principles and it is those very principles that brings us here today whereas initiated into the omega sci-fi fraternity incorporated on april 26 1990 through alpha theta chapter on the campus of arizona state university tempe arizona brother larry c ross senior displayed an unyielding resolve and was a man of the highest character whereas as a member of alpha theta chapter and later fiota chapter brother larry c ross senior prove to be an invaluable asset to the chapter as well as a tireless servant and was revered for his leadership steadfast perseverance compassion and friendship whereas brother larry clark senior steve clark ross senior did embody again the true friendship and spirit of omega and is always willing to help a brother in need whereas the passing of brother larry see ross senior has left the void and all of our hearts and his friendship will be sorely missed whereas brother larry see ross senior will forever be remembered as a son of alpha theta chapter and philo to chapter respectively and may his memory be survived by the many brothers whose lives were impacted by his presence now therefore the 34th 12th district representative of the omega sci-fi fraternity incorporated brother kwame dao do by here hereby forever recognize and acknowledge the life of our brother brother larry see ross senior and witness thereof i have unhear and to set my hand and cause the official seal of the omega scifi fraternity incorporated to be affixed on this day of september 18 20 21. thank you yeah are we going to omit that no we're okay okay we have a number of reflections we'll ask that those come in the order printed in the program have a brief musical selection prior to that so i asked mr dwayne ross mr ryan bowen dr bill smith dr anne hart mike and stephanie dean andrew and janelle wood followed immediately by mark sutton as y'all prepare yourselves [Music] so [Music] so everybody says is oh he set me above all nations cast your enemies away you're standing up within us [Music] is oh god's it's gonna work we is [Music] is we are blessed [Music] [Applause] [Music] so good afternoon everyone i wrote some things about my brother that i want to share with you first given honor to god brother back in the pulpit from skaggs reverend barry howard i start really by saying thank you all that are streaming i know that i have friends that are looking out from japan from london from argentina they've all texted me today two of friends of mine and other severals are fraternity brothers and friends of mr ross who couldn't be here who wanted to be here so i'll start there i'll try not to stay long but just want to be able to leave on this day a memorable moment of my brother keeping the smile alive a dedication to my brother larry c ross who is my hero i'll say that again who is my hero i came across this passage and it really kind of makes things easy and put it in perspective for me eleanor roosevelt wrote happiness is not a goal it's a byproduct for what keeps our interest in life makes us look forward to tomorrow is giving pleasure to other people in other words if you pursue a life of purpose and meaning you don't have to find happiness it will find you i know plenty of stories about my brother and they all fall back to a giving loving unselfish person a person that [Applause] one of my hardest memories is when i watch my brother take off to go to college i came back over from san luis obispo and he got in this volkswagen and i watched him leave night hours i saw a spark flight from the bottom a little volkswagen bug and um i stood in the middle of the street in dowdy street in hanford california and i'll never forget that day because i cried i cried because he was on a journey and not knowing where that journey was going to take him but he had a baseball scholarship i won't talk about his high school grades i'll talk about his accomplishments because when i see my brother i see him from the perspective of a man who always found a way a man who never quit a loving man a friend to his friends and i say to all of my friends that are here from hanford california is where larry will always say he's from hanford california but the man that he became will be always known as a clark man and the clark man sets that foundation that has always started with education i laugh with him because he went from this job to that job to this job to that job until dr bill smith said hey why don't you try education and i have stories many of stories that have happened in this parking lot here to where my brother and i have met at this church he lives in the west i live in the east we have 7 30 11 o'clock service then we go in the parking lot and we talk for about an hour and we just talk about life we give each other strength we give each other love we've always been there at 15 years old when he transformed tran when he came over to san luis obispo and attended one of the omega sci-fi celebrations that started nine o'clock and finish at two celebration i can't say that i inspired him i can't say that i said this is what you should do but that's the choice he took and when people talk about twins when they talk about brothers when they talk about me and larry or larry and i being fraternity brothers it's almost like a twin it's a deeper essence it's just so much more that we shared as brothers back to back together together and when they speak about protection um my father said to me in 1983 in closing he said and he called me wayne instead of dwayne he said i want you to do two things he said don't destroy the character of our name and he said take care of your brother larry those are the only two things my father ever asked of me so julia sabrina cece and little larry whatever it takes i am here for you because that's what my father asked me and that's what my brother said i need you to be the best man so therefore my love for your family runs two parallels deep so understand it's all about protection there's never no harm thank you guys very much for coming to celebrate my brother today [Applause] first giving honor to god he's the head of my house to the ministers of this house to friends to family my name is ryan bowen i've i've spoken in front of many crowds but this is especially tough this is a celebration of life i'm a little selfish today i'm sad uh because i'm gonna miss larry ross i'm gonna miss his smiles i'm gonna miss his laughter uh you all might not know but he made me a better person it made me a better father he made me a better friend and i'm honored to call him friends i can tell a lot of stories i go back uh 40 plus years with larry i'm honored to say that i'm one of his oldest friends i'm here representing a few today from our dusty city called hanford this is one of the few times that i'm able to speak about a person who's not demanding all the spotlight just because of who he was he had a big light he had a big heart and i loved him for that and i did the best in my life to show him how much i loved him so as i wrapped my mind around all of this and he told me i only have two minutes on i'm gonna hurry up so if i try to wrap my mind around all of this i only can come up with it must be playoff time in heaven and god needed a start instead of fielder there is no doubt that me getting to the major leagues was because of how much he loved the game and how much she pushed pushed us and how much we wanted to just be better so i hope that i made him proud he definitely made us proud and one thing you all don't know is we prayed before every game and put god first before we step to the field so now unto him that is able to keep us from falling and to present us fullness before the presence of his glory with exceeding great joy to the only wise god our savior be glory majesty dominion and power amen [Applause] good morning church first given honor to god who's the head of my life uh pastor matthew uh pastor young skaggs the public guests and to the ross and clark families uh this is my wife peter and i'm the dr bill smith that hired larry ross so many years ago at the phoenix preparatory academy [Applause] i sat here and listened to his family talk about how much he could talk and and you're they're right because uh after larry left the interview i said now why did i hire this guy for a teaching job and he don't have a teaching degree he could talk his way just about into anything and talk me into just about anything even though i'm supposed to be his mentor but our relationship went beyond mentor mentee because the mentee became the mentor of the mentor and i really learned to appreciate his gifts because they were gifts i first of all thank the family for sharing him and allowing him to use those gifts and helping to develop a young man and he developed young men whose names began from a to z from abdullah who received the first phd with the first oil uh recipient to receive a phd to zion who just graduated in 2021 whose uh was the student of the year and now attending asu's baird honors college that's what type of influence he had when you talk to larry he would say you know we were co-founders of oil but i was a small cog in a very big wheel and he could put he could wear so many hats at so many different times this did hurt you know larry over the years has been more like my son i have a lot of adopted sons i had two lovely daughters but i have a lot of adopted sons and he was like one of my sons and i know that his infectious personality has got the skies in heaven lit up and i know that god is saying well done thy good and faithful husband well done thy good and faithful father well done thy good and faithful son well done not good and faithful brother and well done my good and faithful friend but mostly of all well done thy good and faithful servant thank you larry ross i love you rest in peace [Applause] would my dear sisters of delta sigma theta sorority incorporated stand in loving memory of larry rawls [Applause] i met larry ross when he arrived at the phoenix elementary school district in the early 1990s he was the new junior high school teacher assigned to the phoenix preparatory academy which housed a thousand predominantly at-risk students from the inner phoenix city area it was a tough junior high school environment which scared off many first-year teachers but this was the challenge that larry embraced because he understood the needs of the students he built solid relationships and got to know the students individually he exhibited emotional empathy coupled with tough love that provided a safe space for disconnected and troubled youth he was energetic and displayed wide encouraging smiles to ensure the meek the lost and the weak that it would be alright larry always put his heart and soul and his dire commitment to help our students black brown red and white and that larry set out to help all students of color he was intense in his desire to help african americans who struggled academically the students at the phoenix preparatory academy love their reading language arts teacher mr ross he was everything to his students from the phoenix preparatory academy to mesa to hope academy to south point he was the director of student services and is the founder of the mega youth leadership academy larry ross was my mentee and a professional colleague we stayed connected over the evolution of our careers larry frequently discussed his concerns for particularly how african-american males were disenfranchised from school with unfair suspensions and expulsions they were disenfranchised from school with all and certain unfair and inappropriate consequences that often are black boys received he would call me and the conversation began with dr hart i need your help and i reply by saying larry what's going on yes larry was truly an advocate for our youth and a mentor a true educator in every sense of the word a risk taker and a god-fearing man larry accepted challenges he created his own definition of success and viewed failures as an opportunity for growth and he stayed true to his values sabrina sierra and larry ii please know that your dad was a superman a black man who i remember as one of the best educators that i have ever known larry ross was a great human being who has truly left a legacy of excellence and programs and services for students parents and teachers school administrators and the community mrs julia ross someone as special as your husband larry ross will never be forgotten he will remain in our hearts forever thank you [Applause] this is the day that the lord has made us let us rejoice and be glad in it giving honor to our lord and savior jesus christ to the ministers the larry ross family and friends good afternoon we are michael and stephanie dean and we were honored to be asked to reflect on our relationship with our brother larry ross when we met larry uh some years ago it was he was a young man who was here with a lot of energy and i don't know if he was that focused or not but he was just having a good time but we but we saw him over the years grow and develop into the outstanding young man that he turned out to be so when we were asked to to talk about reflection reflections and what reflections mean when you look in the mirror when you see things and come back to you well larry we looked at larry and we were trying to reflect back on him and so we you know we prayed on it and the lord put this on our hearts reflections r e f l e c t i o n s are respectful e enthusiastic f faithful family man of god and he loved him some reason l loyal and loquacious that brother could talk excellence he emphasized doing your best at all times c committed and caring he was committed because he cared t thoughtful and thankful and with larry the glass was always half full and he'd say it's going to be okay i integrity and intelligence and one of the one of the things that struck me we were doing a district meeting and he was working a workshop i'd never heard this term before but he he walked into the room and there was a there were young men and you know like us and uh he said 211. and the young men knew what he was talking about but i was like what are you talking about but he said 211 is when water gets hot but at 212 water boils and when water boils it creates steam and with steam you can move a train that's the type of guy that larry was he was a 212 guy there's always things going on and he was involved in it and encouraging others to do the same oh he was outstanding and opinionated he would say he would say no disrespect but you asked me so i'm going to tell you and in he was nice but he was a nasty q-dog [Laughter] as he was spiritually grounded and his smile could light up a room we have so many uh wonderful memories uh about larry and one of the ones that touched my heart uh so deeply is because in 1996 we hosted the the uh district meeting and our bachelors asked if i would serve as district marshal and we were trying to put together the program and so forth and the dr at the time wanted us to do a youth leadership conference one that had never been done before but larry took on the responsibility stepped forward and and then and what's happened is is that the 1996 district meeting was hosted by fire owner and alpha theta larry stepped up took on the task of coordinating the first 12th district youth leadership conference at phoenix college it was a smashing success and serving uh young men serving young men became larry's life work and that is one of the things that i'll always cherish and we thank you for this opportunity to stand before you and share these reflections about our friend our brother larry c ross thank you [Applause] rossi got me in front of a mic again good afternoon church for those of you who don't know me um my name is andrew wood this is my lovely wife janelle wood and i first met larry on the campus arizona state university in the spring of 1990 at an interest meeting for the omega sci-fi fraternity incorporated we named our line soul to soul essentially soul soul was a metaphor for the bond we developed as we walked along that path towards omega little did we know that our souls would be woven together tightly for the next 31 years no matter where we our work assignments took us god always kept us close as a school probation officer i had the privilege to work with larry on the campus of westwood high school there we go westwood westwood in the house yeah yeah for five years now when he went on to south point somehow miraculously my case load got transferred to a south phoenix caseload and once again larry and i were at school sometimes when i wasn't supposed to be there just talking about omega talking about how we can impact the community around south phoenix neighborhood when he was assigned to sierra linda sir linda here once again for some miraculous reason my caseload got transferred to a levine tullison caseload where was that again sitting in larry ross's office at 12 noon talking about omega even when he went to hope i told ross guess what i got a couple kids over there i'll be down there in that brand new facility that i had at the time over at south mountain community college so wherever larry went i followed because that's the job of his lb that's the job of his his tail dog he's a trailblazer i'm gonna protect his back that's my job so whatever larry needed or wanted i'm there for when he said bruh i need you to do this for me i need an assignment i got you bro don't worry about it i got you okay and it seemed to be the same way with everybody larry came across it wasn't just a breath thing it was a community thing his energy was so high and his passion was so much for his students it was infectious regardless of his assignment larry always engaged with his students beyond the classroom lyre was the ebony advisor at westwood do you all remember the ebony club bree remembered every club bree was like his road dog damn times wherever wherever larry was bree was right there as if she was one of the ebony club members lara provided a safe space for african american students to express themselves and develop their self-worth now does that sound familiar this was back in the late 90s 2000s essentially the ebony club was the germ for the omega youth leadership academy as we know it today that's how far back larry was dreaming of this thing called the mega youth leadership academy that's how far far back it went now the most important thing for larry was his family team ross as he called team ross was his world we would have long conversations about our kids and by a talk by talk i really mean i listen and try i think julia described it best try to get a word in try to get a word in because that brother could talk and then when it came to his family you couldn't stop he was so proud of each and every one of the kids so proud of each and every one of the kids [Applause] and all he asked was to operate next less that's all he asked however that may look he asked of his kids i just need you to operate next night julia larry would talk to me just every time we talked to you it was all always about you were always he was always talking about you yeah yeah and uh he once described to me marrying you was like winning the lotto he was the winner [Applause] now miss flochin that was another heart that's the other part of larry's heart i remember um he would call me back in the day just talking about how miss flochin would be handling them kids over at sierra vista just handling them they just sit there and they say yes miss lochie yes miss rosie you know these don't let me digress i'm not gonna go there okay he loved you deeply miss washing he loved you deeply larry loved omega sci-fi fraternity he loved the brothers his enthusiasm for the brotherhood as it was infectious and far-reaching as shown by all the many bras here and on online coming to pay their respects coming to pay their respects for this bro who was a shining light and drew people to him drew the brush to him he showed omega's cardinal principles of manhood scholarship perseverance and uplift every day of his life he lived his creed and served omega faithfully faith family friendship and fraternity were larry's cornerstones he lived life to the fullest and was blessed to fulfill god's purpose for his life now bro now that you've transitioned to a mega chapter rest easy knowing that we will protect your legacy i mean one by me my meaning of protecting his legacy and people sitting right over there we're gonna protect your legacy julia we're gonna protect you larry i know you don't like it little larry we're gonna protect you okay cece brie and linda we gonna protect you okay we're gonna protect you [Applause] god bless you ms flochin for giving larry to the world yes god bless you you gave larry to us without you he wouldn't be here so god bless you in closing death leaves a heartache that no one can heal but leaves a memory no one can steal the apostle paul writes in philippians 4 verse 8 think and i would also say celebrate about these things that are true noble right pure lovely admirable and anything that is excellent i want us to all celebrate larry and to think of all these things well i don't know about the pure part because because he is a bro he is a brook larry we love you and miss you rest well knowing that we got you back down here in the meantime walk with my brother i know you back i know you are you are with chuck marcus and showing brother greene brother peavy brother mclendon brother evans and brother smith how to do the alpha theater three-man hop team set it out one more time for me down there up there send it out for me love you ross [Applause] well larry's beautiful wife asked me to give some words because she said i was like his sister and so i will but first i want to give honor to god my lord and savior jesus christ and i want to give honor to pastor mackey angel of this house to all our clergy to all our officiating clergy and to each and every one of you in the ross family my reflections on larry ross is really centered around his impact on my life and the lives of others in ecclesiastes 3 1 it says to everything there is a season a time for every purpose under heaven larry lived out his purpose and in doing so he positively impacted many lives along the way he was a brother to my husband like an uncle to our son bryce he was a dear friend to me and a partner in crime when it came to making sure our black sons and daughters were taken care of larry was always looking for ways to partner with me to build up our black children he shared in my vision to not only end the school to prison pipeline but to create safe and supportive learning environments for our black children especially our black sons many of you don't know that larry believed in the purpose of black mother's form so much he graciously accepted my invitation to serve as one of our initial board members of black mother's form as the only black male voice on our board full of black mamas larry fit right on in because you know we can talk he can talk to he helped guide us in our efforts to create safe spaces for our black sons he was always calling or texting me he would say hello i need your professional and personal opinion on an initiative whenever you got 15 minutes reach out hope your day is grand he was always looking for ways to support our work through his work with o-yla always looking for ways to connect black mothers of his mentees with black mothers form the last text i received from my dear brother larry was on monday june 7th and in his text he said to me happy monday my sister when you have a solid 15 minutes from me i sure could use your advice as it relates to navigating with non-profit nothing heavy larry and i just happened to be in a retreat that day and i said okay i think i can get with you tomorrow he said no problem i'll be on standby then on tuesday june 8th i sent him a text and i said i can talk now i can talk about 2 30 a day will that work and my last words from mary was i just got admitted to the hospital i will reach back at another time we never had that conversation so he owes me one when i see him in heaven because you know he's got he's ready to have a conversation with me at some point this was the last text i received from larry he often sought my advice on his next moves especially when it came to navigating in the arenas that i've had been blessed to navigate i will always remember his optimism and passion to build up the character and strength of our black sons and daughters with the hopes of them one day becoming black men responsible for their families communities and laying a firmer foundation for future generations larry exhibited all of the qualities he endeavored to pour into the black young men in his care most importantly his three precious children his beautiful wife julia birthed here were sabrina sierra and larry ii the same passionate love he had for his wife his mother his brothers his children his family and his frat and all of his friends spilled over to all of us we thank you miss floshing for sharing your son with us i thank you brothers of larry for sharing your brother with us i thank you julia for sharing your husband with us i thank you children for sharing your dad with us and i thank you family for sharing him with us we got to experience a taste of the intense love that he he had for each one of you larry would want us to live with the same drive love and passion he had for all those in his presence hoping it would spill over into the lives of those we have been blessed to do life with rest in peace my beautiful beautiful brother thank you for trusting me with your dreams for a brighter tomorrow thank you all give an honor to god and the pastors of this church we are here to celebrate larry's life we are his aunts and uncles but we are also here to have a healing celebration for us matthew 4 5 and 4 states blessed of those who mourn for they shall be comforted isaiah 57 and 1 states for those who live godly lives will rest in peace we are the uncles we are the aunts and uncles of larry clark ross we always we all we all have our own personal and shared memories of larry when we think of him we think of what his name meant to him he was very proud of his name larry clark ross we have words for each of alphabet in his name that best describe him elders were loyal laughter and level-headed larry loyally committed his love to his family especially his wife julia a is for awesome attitude and and ambitious his attitude was always a positive uplifting one the two r's are for respectful and respected he was respectful to others and he was respected by his family students and his peers y is for yes and youthfulness it was yes whenever his help was needed larry had a youthful energetic spirit i'm larry's uncle uh eddie l tiggs and he used to call me commander tiggs he would come over to the house when he first came out and actually larry is the reason that my wife and my family relocated to phoenix arizona and so in keeping with the the program c c stands for two things clark clark men and at this moment i'd like for all the clark men in the house to stand to honor larry ross thank you the clark men started at our birthplace down home in mississippi and so with that said the sea represents his calm confident and commitment he had to his family we cherished him for these values l is for his humble leadership abilities and his liveliness and tell let me tell you his liveliness i've never seen in my life larry angry not smiling he could go into a room as you all have said and light that room up you know when larry left the room it was very joyous and so uh his liveliness which was very humorous a is for admiration because he was admired by many r is for responsible and reliable you could always rely on larry no matter what we could rely on larry k represents the kindness that he had in his heart larry had a refreshing distinctive personality his personality ignited the hearts and many and so with that you know he's gone too soon and we all will miss larry but his legacy will carry on hello i'm aunt karen the last r in his name stands for righteous rare realistic relatable remarkable resourceful recognizable and refreshing his aura was righteous he was a selfless person he made time for everyone o is for outgoing humble spirit and his obligation to get dedicate his life to christ the two essence was his trademark but his sincere smile which was big bright shining and sunny it was always on his face also for sincereness in his faith and trust in god s also stands for special yes larry was special to our family each generation the elders the middle age and the youth had their special endearment moments with larry larry clark ross spirit is impacted in our hearts for eternity we cannot really imagine what it would have meant not to have had larry as a part of our family we end with a quote from larry clark ross he said god did not make a mistake when he placed me in this family and it's another aunt standing in the audience raise your hand best she over there with that white hat on she probably can't raise her hand thank you thank you thank you there's a preacher in the house amen shall delay much have him come now and provide for us well there i go again come on brother sutton don't be apologizing i'm sorry final acknowledgement and then our preacher brother barry how reverend barry pastor barry howard will come immediately following and provide further words of comfort for us and for the family thank you first given honor to god who's ahead of my life pastor mackey the other pastors including brother skaggs i'm wrapping up here and i promise i'll be brief because i can't say too much that hasn't already been said about larry ross larry was one of a kind i moved here to arizona in summer of 1990 shortly after he and andrew wood crossed the burning sands and became members of the omega sci-fi fraternity incorporated alpha theta chapter so we've known each other for over thirty years now quick funny story is from uh whenever i spoke with larry he would always tell me aretha and i are doing this wreath and the kids are doing that i promise you i don't think i knew that julia was your name until facebook came out so i mean i and i actually called him i said dawg who is julia ross and he said dawg that's my wife i said well what's going on and he explained aretha's middle name he goes he calls you aretha so i've always been calling uretha because that's what he called you so anyway um that being said uh i wanted to i want to introduce myself as a member of the board of directors for omega youth leadership academy um my uh my words are so similar to drew's words his line brother larry was or is a visionary present tense again like brother skaggs said larry is a visionary he unfortunately though wasn't the greatest administratively he's he saw different things he knew how to he knew what was going to happen he knew what he wanted to uh to do with omega youth leadership academy but then guess what drew it was up to me to put it together so i always had to make sure that we did what he says that we were going to do and uh you know fortunately i was able to have a great uh great assistance but and i'm sure any of the board members in here you remember getting a call from me when we first started to establish the board we got larry i never forget when larry came to a frat meeting in 2012 and he was like we got it we got it db i know you know what he's talking he was talking about he was talking about our non-profit status we got it we got it unfortunately because of the lack of administrative duties we lost it so it was up to me to uh get it back and we did fortunately get get our non-profit status back retro back to the first day that we that we uh that we achieved it and now now um have work to do we have work to do because larry ross had a vision larry ross had a vision for omega youth leadership academy and it's up to us now to uh to carry on that vision and bruh i promise you that we are going to achieve more than you could ever ever think about with omega omega youth leadership academy i give you my word i'm a man of my word i do not break promises and omega youth leadership academy everyone is going to be uh it's going to be on the tip of everyone's tongue i promise you that it's in omega youth leadership academy is in good hands great hands and uh and we will carry out your vision my brother i'm going back and forth with these notes that i wrote but another thing that i wanted to mention is one of my last conversations with larry was was via text and he told me one thing that again everyone has echoed but i'm gonna say it in a different way i'm gonna say it exactly how larry told me he said my wife is a soldier and looking at her today he's right he's right i just want to end this by saying again um oyla is in good hands aretha and family we got you we got you and um that's it that's it thank you everybody thank you the lord is my light my salvation whom shall i fear the lord is the strength of my life of whom shall i be afraid when the wicked even my enemies came upon me to eat up my flesh they stumbled and failed though a host should encamp against me my heart will not fear the war shall rise against me in this will i be confident one thing i desire the lord that will i seek after that i may dwell in the house of the lord all the days of my life and behold the beauty of the lord and inquire in his temple hello and good afternoon i am larry's cousin and there are a few things just quickly everything has been said but just a few things i want to say about him and offer some words of encouragement to our family but before doing so let me say thank you to the pilgrim press church family and to this beloved shepherd here who has been so kind so gracious and to all of you who are watching online and those of you who are here from different communities thank you for your support by no small measure we appreciate that and that's what help gets us through this thank you there are three scriptures that i want to use very briefly as a point of reference and a backdrop regarding larry larry ross has a beautiful life story and these three verses are very fitting for what we've already heard the first scripture comes from matthew the 12th chapter where you will find these words behold my servant in whom i have chosen i being the most high god my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased i have put my spirit upon him and he will declare justice to the gentiles the declare and we've all heard it and that is to proclaim the good news of our lord and savior jesus christ this second scripture that i want to use in talking about this great patriarch portrays how larry went about serving others and you can find it in colossians third chapter verse 23 through 24 and it reads and whatever you do do it heartedly as to the lord and not to men knowing that from the lord you will receive the reward of inheritance for you serve the lord christ and this third verse comes from john the 17th chapter where jesus himself and everything that we've heard about my beloved cousin this verse says it all father i have glorified thee here on earth i have finished the work which you have given me to do larry did that it reminds me of an old saying that verse what the old folks used to say let the life that i live speak for me and if i can be honest with you all it's hard to find the right words to say when a loved one departs this life but this i know truly this man is an all-around great man he was a role model of giving back to others we heard from many people and there's a common theme that we heard and that was service to someone else he took this responsibility serious simply put he was and he is a servant especially to our youth and young adults [Applause] the heart of god and larry took that on is investment in our children larry not only was a servant in that capacity but he was a servant in his profession we just heard from board members we just heard from some of his contemporaries he was a servant in his community he was a servant at family events i'm reminded of our gatherings in june and you heard the family talk a little bit about it in ebenezer's mississippi there was larry always setting up ensuring the sound system was working whatever it is that needed to be done larry was involved not only was he a servant in that capacity he was a provider he was a provider as a husband a provider as a father a provider as a son and a provider as a brother this trait of save serving others was in his dna and for those of us who know his family history this is nothing strange to us why do i say that today larry has an uncle a great uncle who will be 95 next month robert g clark affectionately known to many of us as unk former member of the mississippi house of representatives still actively serving today in his community he mentored larry larry was a protege of his here's my point church my point is this and i read it somewhere before and it's so true they say the character or who a person is or what they represent does not depart us nor can it be buried although he's departed larry's spirit lives in us family let me say this as i get ready to bring this message to a close it's so important that we see larry's departure from a spiritual perspective why because john the revelator captured some very promising words for us as inspired by the holy spirit of almighty god himself those words and that promise can be found in revelations the 21st chapter starting at verses 1-5 and i have them written in my heart and i give them to you john captured these words john said i see a new heaven and a new earth for the old heaven and the old earth had passed away and there was no more seeing he said i saw the holy city the new jerusalem coming down out of heaven from god above prepared as a bride adorned for her husband then john said the tabernacle of god is with mankind and god shall dwell with them they shall be his people and god will be their god he goes on to say and god shall wipe away every tear from their eyes there shall be no more death there shall be no more sorrow there shall be no more crying there shall be no more pain for the former things are passed away then he who sat on the throne said to john he said john i make all things new again he said right for these words are true and faithful scripture goes on to say it is finished i am the alpha and the omega the beginning and the end let him who thirsts drink from this fountain of living water so i say to you family this is not the end this is not the end because god is going to make all things new again as we look to the promises of jesus christ and him reuniting us in eternity forevermore and while i go to my seat flow i'm reminded of an old song they used to sing at pleasant green in ebenezer's mississippi and it had these words because he lives [Applause] i can face tomorrow because he lives all fear is gone for i know who holds the future and life is worth the living because he lives you [Applause] we're going to be all right we have each other and i love you thank you [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] as we bring these services to a close [Music] so grateful to god pastor barry howard come on all the way from dallas texas we praise god for him [Music] our directors now from universal south mountain is coming to help us to retire these services [Music] we're moving on from this place to the rest haven cemetery on southern we have a gate time at two o'clock y'all pray for us amen but we're gonna try to get there swiftly expeditiously as possible thank you all so much for your patience we just couldn't do larry's life justice with just our hour and a half funeral amen we we had to take time for time because he's taught us it's not about the duration of life is about the donation of life and certainly he lived life to the fullest we're going to retire these services ministers if you would help me [Music] he lives god bless you bless you i can face if you know it you can sing it with me because he lives [Music] all fear [Music] are gone [Music] the future [Music] is they get because [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] you

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Length: 165min 11sec (9911 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 18 2021