Larry O'Rourke, RIP

Larry's mom and dad posted this message on Larry's facebook page tonight:

Dear friends, we need to share the bad news, we lost Larry shortly before 5 PM today. He passed peacfully at his home with Sacred Heart Hospice Doctor & his staff along with us by his side. Although this was expected, it still came faster than we thought. We'll send details tomorrow.--Joyce & Larry

Larry, long-time Eagles beat writer for the Allentown Morning Call, battled ALS with spirit, courage, strength and humor. He was an inspiration to everybody who knew him. He'll be missed terribly.

 

If a moderator would merge my thread on Anything Goes into this one, I'd appreciate it.

 

I knew a few of his colleagues who adored the guy. And he was a very good writer, I might add.

 

Never had the chance to meet him while he was in Trenton, but everyone I knew that did meet him considered him a great guy.

It's interesting the difference in the stories about his passing with the papers he worked for:

Trentonian: http://trentonian.com/articles/2011/06/16/news/doc4df984e88c910177710950.txt?viewmode=fullstory

Morning Call:
http://www.mcall.com/sports/mc-larry615-20110615,0,6792423.story

 

Having lost my mom to this horrible disease on May 18, this one hits a little closer to home. You don't want your loved one to go, but you get some relief from the knowledge that they're free after an awful, terrible, heart-wrenching decline.

RIP, Larry.

 

so very sorry got your loss, man. can't imagine the pain involved watching your mom deal with this insidious disease. and i'm equally sure it pained her to no end that her family had to witness all she went through.

rip, larry and sf's mom. i have no doubt that they are prancing about, free of any of the symptoms that contributed to their premature passing.

 

Larry endured more than three years after geting the diagnosis, watching his body being taken away from him piece by piece. I can't imagine anybody has ever faced this horrible fate with more dignity and aplomb.
I was thinking last week about e-mailing him, but didn't get around to it. Had no idea we were this close to the end.

My favorite line Larry wrote was from after the Eagles started off 0-2 in 2003, getting several key players hurt in the process. Naturally, an air of crisis attended the Monday press conference after the second loss. We all noted that in various ways. Larry's was the best. "They were circling the Escalades down at the NovaCare complex yesterday."

I'll really miss a guy I came to admire.

 

Larry was not only a great guy and an excellent reporter, he was an unusual type of workhorse who pushed himself not only for personal success but to make life easier for his colleagues. His clips were fine, but he was a perfect example of a newspaper journalist who brought a lot of intangibles to a staff and helped make it possible for the people around him to do their jobs better. One of the most unselfish people I've met in a newsroom. He had an uncanny knack for knowing when to dive in and help someone and when to simply get out of the way. Plenty of people knew him better, but he was among my favorites just because I loved the way he approached the job.

 

It's weird ... it seems as if you're in for a long, agonizing haul, and then all of the sudden, things drop off very quickly. At least that was my experience as well.

 

sadly, several conditions are similar, though ALS is likely the worst, being such a death sentence..

i have m.s., which is not life-threatening. i was diagnosed in late '85 during a bout with bipolar optic neuritis (i was pretty much blind for about 4 months), but for 16 or 17 years i rarely had any 'episodes.' then, all of a sudden, starting in '02, i began having neurological symptoms primarily on my right side (leg, hand, arm). it forced me off the nfl beat in 2004, stopped me from editing nights by '07, when driving became too risky and i became our nfl writer again, strictly working from home. in early 2010, i was hositalized with some other issues, during which time the inactivity zapped whatever left/arm strength i still had (i was able to get around the house with a walker, until then, and scoot around town in my motorized scooter until then). intensive p.t. wasn't much help; i've been either bedridden or wheelchair-bound, and unemployed ever since.

so i have an idea how much anyone dealing with something more horrifying, like ALS, must feel about their loved ones. it kills me how much my condition adds to mrs. shockey's plate and stress level, cry for my boys having more to deal with than any boys their age should have to, am depressed over what their lives have become because of all this.

it sucks. but we all carry on, keep a stiff upper lip and try to make the best of it. and trust me, those who are infirmed worry much more about what their loved ones are going through than they do about themselves. the guilt is indescribable.

 

I never met anyone who didn't have nice things to say about Larry. He was good people, quick with a smile and always willing to help you any way he could. Life's too short, but it shouldn't be this short. Rest in peace.

 

Amen. It's been a little dusty around here today, and also, I hear, in the Phillies' press box.